Protecting vulnerable in Iraq, Syria a priority: New UNHRC chief

New United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, Monday said protecting vulnerable groups in Iraq and Syria should be a top priority for the international community.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council for the first time since he assumed the role of high commissioner in the beginning of September, Hussein said that from a human rights perspective, it was clear that the immediate and urgent priority of the international community should be to halt the increasingly conjoined conflicts in Iraq and Syria.

"In particular, dedicated efforts are urgently needed to protect religious and ethnic groups, children and women, who are at risk of forcible recruitment and sexual violence, have been the targets of severe restrictions," he said.

He noted that widespread or systematic attacks on civilians because of their ethnic background or religious beliefs may constitute crimes against humanity and warned that those responsible will be held accountable, Xinhua reported.

Spreading outwards from its initial anchorage in the chaos of the Syrian conflict, the so-called Islamic State group -- that currently in effect controls large swathes of northern Iraq -- has demonstrated absolute and deliberate disregard for human rights, he added.

"The scale of its use of brute violence against ethnic and religious groups is unprecedented in recent times," he stressed.

Addressing the conflict in Palestine, the high commissioner reiterated numerous previous calls by his predecessor Navi Pillay for Israel's economic blockade of Gaza to be lifted.

He said current and future generations of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have a right to live normal lives in dignity.

He said the seven-year blockade must end, and that "there must be effective accountability for transgressions committed by all parties".