A United Nations debate on the human rights situation on Myanmar became a venue for attacking Israel. In an emergency session convened Tuesday by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, the representative of the Islamic bloc wondered why the council was focusing on Myanmar when more Palestinians have died recently at the hands of Israel. According to a transcript provided by the watchdog group U.N. Watch, Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan, the Islamic bloc representative, said that “more innocent civilians have died in Palestine a few days ago in twenty-four hours as a result of Israeli military action than in the whole of Myanmar,” but this “has not received the same degree of attention from the media or this council.” The Human Rights Council has repeatedly come under fire for its disproportionate focus on Israel. The final resolution said the 47-nation council “strongly deplores” the violent repression in Myanmar. The language had been toned down from the “strongly condemn” that the Europeans had proposed.
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