UN Rights Chief Arrives in Syria for First Ever Visit

Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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UN Rights Chief Arrives in Syria for First Ever Visit

Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk arrived in Syria's capital, Damascus, on Tuesday for the first ever visit of the global body's rights chief to the country.

Turk, an Austrian lawyer, will visit Syria and Lebanon from Jan. 14-16 and meet with officials, civil society groups, diplomats and UN bodies, the UN statement said, without giving further details.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was driven from power by a lightening opposition offensive last month, ending 50 years of family rule and raising hopes for accountability for crimes committed during Syria's more than 13 year civil war.

According to Reuters, under Assad, many UN officials and rights groups were denied access to the country to investigate alleged violations.

A spokesperson for Turk's office did not immediately provide further details of how many times he or his predecessors had tried to gain access to the country. The role of High Commissioner for Human Rights was created in 1993.



Egypt Plans to Offer ‘Comprehensive Proposal’ to Rebuild Gaza While Palestinians Remain in Strip 

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
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Egypt Plans to Offer ‘Comprehensive Proposal’ to Rebuild Gaza While Palestinians Remain in Strip 

Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk in the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP)

Egypt said on Tuesday it plans to offer a "comprehensive proposal" to rebuild Gaza while ensuring Palestinians remain on their land, according to a foreign ministry statement.

It said it is looking forward to cooperating with US President Donald Trump to reach comprehensive and just peace in the region.

The statement comes as Trump continues to press for his plan to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan despite vehement rejection from Arab states.

Egypt rejected any proposal to allocate land to Gaza residents, the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reported on Tuesday, citing Egyptian sources.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told state-owned al-Mamlaka TV on Tuesday that there is an Egyptian-led Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its people.

Trump said earlier on the same day that he believed there would be a parcel of land in Jordan, Egypt and someplace else where Palestinians can be resettled.

Trump has infuriated the Arab world by saying that Palestinians would not be able to return to their homes under his proposal to redevelop the enclave, which has been devastated by an Israeli offensive.

"We're going to take it. We're going to hold it, we're going to cherish it. We're going to get it going eventually, where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East," Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, saying his plan would "bring peace" to the region.

King Abdullah said later that he reiterated to Trump Jordan’s "steadfast position" against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as in the occupied West Bank that borders his country.