'It is unfathomable that so many lives have been taken in such a wanton fashion,' says Turk

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement from Geneva that he has repeatedly expressed his alarm about the catastrophic impact of a possible full-scale offensive on Rafah.

In a short interview with the Austrian public broadcaster ORF on Monday morning, Turk described the situation in Gaza as "terrible."

“Important lessons of the Holocaust, whose indescribable crimes led to the Convention – and the lessons of Cambodia, Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and others – made it absolutely clear that preventing genocide and bringing its perpetrators to account before all humanity, is essential “to the work of advancing human rights”, Turk said.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Israel must end its use of such weapons in the densely populated area, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have been displaced by fighting in the last month.

Volker Turk calls on Europe to eradicate racism, stand up for the rights of migrants, refugees

Repugnant series of some 30 incidents of burning the Quran recently is latest manifestation of this urge to polarize and fragment, says Volker Turk

"Israel must urgently reset its policies and actions in the Occupied West Bank in line with international human rights standards, including protecting and respecting the right to life," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in a written statement.

Volker Turk was addressing the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, where he formally presented a report on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.