India refrains from casting a vote in the UNHRC resolution regarding the ceasefire in Gaza.

April 8 :
India chose not to cast a vote on a resolution that asked the UN Human Rights Council to impose a weapons embargo on Israel and demand an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza.

"Human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice" is the title of the resolution that the UNHRC, headquartered in Geneva, endorsed. It received approval from 28 countries; 13 countries, including India, Japan, the Netherlands, France, and Romania, did not vote for it.

Israel has occupied Palestinian land, including East Jerusalem, since 1967. This was its intended outcome. Among its demands was the immediate end of all types of collective punishment, including Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

A possible act of ethnic cleansing in Palestine was denounced by Israel in the resolution. It demanded that all states maintain their emergency aid programmes and stressed the critical imperative of restoring basic essentials to the Gaza residents.

The attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the targeted slaughter of people, was also condemned in the UNHRC resolution. In compliance with international law, it emphasised the necessity of delivering urgent humanitarian relief and called for the swift release of all remaining captives.

It was clear from India's voting record at the UNHRC session that the Indian government supported three resolutions denouncing Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians, affirming Palestinian right to self-determination and denouncing Israeli sovereignty over the Syrian Golan, which it has maintained since 1967.

Tensions had already been rising before these events, which included an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Syria and the deaths of seven foreign charity workers in Gaza. On behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Pakistan presented all four resolutions.