The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Friday aimed at addressing the human rights situation in the Gaza Strip, the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG) said on Wednesday.
The special session is called to address "the grave violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including the recent aggression in the occupied Gaza Strip," UNOG said in a statement.
The special session is being convened upon a request by Egypt, on behalf of the Arab Group and the African Group, Pakistan, on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and Cuba, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, according to the statement.
In order for a special session to be convened, the support of one-third of the membership of the Council -- 16 members or more --is required. So far 29 Council members have supported this request.
This will be the ninth special session of the 47-state Human Rights Council. The Council's previous special sessions were related to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Darfur, Myanmar, the Global Food Crisis and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source:Xinhua
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