UN staff urge rights chief Volker Turk to call Gaza war a ‘genocide’

Letter sent connected behalf of much than 500 OHCHR workers says nonaccomplishment to picture the warfare arsenic a ‘genocide’ undermines the planetary rights extortion system.

Hundreds of United Nations unit person made an entreaty to the body’s quality rights main Volker Turk to publically picture the war successful Gaza arsenic a “genocide”, saying his office’s nonaccomplishment to bash truthful undermines the planetary rights extortion system.

The entreaty was made successful a letter, signed by the Staff Committee connected behalf of much than 500 employees astatine the Geneva-based Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and sent to Turk connected Wednesday. A transcript of the missive was obtained by Al Jazeera.

The missive said “a wide cross-section” of OHCHR unit believed that the ineligible threshold for genocide had been met successful the lawsuit of Israel’s astir two-year warfare successful Gaza, “based connected extended reporting by UN mechanisms”, arsenic good arsenic autarkic experts.

Concerned unit felt that the OHCHR should “reflect this appraisal much explicitly successful its nationalist communications”, and that the nonaccomplishment to bash truthful “risks eroding OHCHR’s credibility arsenic starring authorization connected quality rights for everyone everywhere”.

The missive added that OHCHR unit felt “profound vexation astatine the scale, scope, and quality of reported violations and their interaction connected civilians, particularly women and children”.

It urged the OHCHR to debar repeating the mistakes of history, noting that the UN’s “silence” during the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed much than 1 cardinal radical was “often cited arsenic 1 of [its] top motivation failures”.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Volker Turk holds a quality league successful Caracas, Venezuela, January 28, 2023 [File: Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters]

“OHCHR has a beardown ineligible and motivation work to denounce acts of genocide,” the missive continued. “Failing to denounce an unfolding genocide undermines the credibility of the UN and the quality rights strategy itself.”

At slightest 62,966 Palestinians person been killed and astir 160,000 wounded during the war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, portion much than 300 radical – including 121 children – person starved to death, arsenic famine has been confirmed successful portion of the enclave.

In Turk’s effect to the letter, reported by the Reuters quality agency, the UN rights main said the unit had raised important concerns.

“I cognize we each stock a feeling of motivation indignation astatine the horrors we are witnessing, arsenic good arsenic vexation successful the look of the planetary community’s inability to bring this concern to an end,” helium said, adding a telephone for unit to “remain agreed arsenic an Office successful the look of specified adversity”.

Asked to remark connected the leaked letter, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told the quality bureau that the warfare successful Gaza had “shaken america each to our core” and created hard circumstances for unit documenting the unfolding abuses to punctual planetary action.

“There person been and volition proceed to beryllium discussions internally connected however to determination forward,” she told Reuters.

Genocide accusations growing

While a increasing fig of satellite leaders, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, person described Israel’s actions successful Gaza arsenic a genocide, the UN has not utilized the term, with UN officials having said it is up to planetary courts to find genocide.

South Africa brought a genocide lawsuit against Israel to the International Court of Justice successful 2023, but it is yet to marque its mode done the court.

Some rights groups, specified arsenic Amnesty International, arsenic good arsenic the autarkic UN adept Francesca Albanese, person besides utilized the term.

Israel rejects accusations of genocide successful Gaza, claiming it is acting successful accordance with its close to self-defence successful effect to the deadly Hamas attacks successful October 2023, successful which 1,139 radical were killed and much than 200 taken captive.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies