Alice Wairimu Nderitu, special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general on the prevention of genocide, speaks at a conference on March 9, 2022.
Palestinian Groups Condemn Silence of UN's Top Official on Genocide
"The glaring absence of any action in response to the sustained mass atrocities endured by Palestinians in Gaza raises significant concerns about the special adviser's capability to execute her mandate."
More than a dozen Palestinian human rights groups on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the United Nations Office of Genocide Prevention and its special adviser, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, over their near-total silence as the Israeli military continues its large-scale assault on Gaza's starving population.
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Al-Haq, and other organizations wrote that the "absence of any action in response to the sustained mass atrocities endured by Palestinians in Gaza raises significant concerns about the special adviser's capability to execute her mandate with due effectiveness and impartiality."
The groups argued that the silence from Nderitu is "particularly glaring" now that the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the U.N.'s highest legal body, has ruled that South Africa's genocide case against Israel is plausible and ordered the Israeli military to do everything in its power to prevent genocide.
Other U.N. experts have vocally warned that Palestinians in Gaza are facing a possible genocide at the hands of the Israeli military. In November, eight U.N. special rapporteurs issued a joint statement declaring that "time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza."
"The U.N. cannot afford to stay silent in the face of the genocide currently taking place in Gaza and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
Nderitu, a Kenyan diplomat, expressed alarm on October 15 over "the loss of civilian lives resulting from Israeli bombardments" in Gaza but has not described Israel's actions as possibly genocidal. A review of the U.N. Office on Genocide Prevention's website shows that Nderitu has not issued a public statement on Gaza in nearly four months, even as she has condemned the intensification of violence in Sudan and other countries.
Israeli forces have killed tens of thousands of Gazans since Nderitu's October 15 statement, and nearly the entire population of the enclave has been displaced in those intervening months.
"The gravity of the situation on the ground in Gaza and the urgency it commands intensify our concerns that the special adviser is in dereliction of her duties and responsibilities demanded by her mandate," the Palestinian groups wrote Wednesday. "This failure includes neglecting to raise awareness about Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza or, at the very least, to the alarming risk of genocide; failing to acknowledge the ICJ ruling that Israel is plausibly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza along with the provisional measures ordered for Israel; and refusing to engage meaningfully, meet, or respond to requests from Palestinian human rights organizations."
The groups urged Guterres to launch an investigation into "the reasons behind the failure of both the special adviser and the Office on Genocide Prevention to fulfill their mandates" and to publicly disclose the findings.
"The failure of the international community, including Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, to prevent Israel's genocide in Gaza has tangible consequences on the ground," the new letter reads. "This is evident in the tragic toll of 100,000 Palestinians who have been killed, injured, or are missing, constituting 4% of the total Gaza population. The ongoing mass atrocities in Gaza require an unequivocal response. The U.N. cannot afford to stay silent in the face of the genocide currently taking place in Gaza and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
Nderitu has faced internal criticism at the U.N. over her lack of response to Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.
In late October, dozens of unnamed U.N. staffers signed an internal memo rebuking Nderitu for failing to sufficiently condemn Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and its yearslong blockade, which has denied food, water, and medicine to increasingly desperate Palestinians.
A petition calling for Nderitu's resignation, meanwhile, has garnered more than 21,000 signatures.
"With the official in charge of genocide prevention taking no action despite public pressure, statements by U.N. special rapporteurs, and thousands of civilians killed, including U.N. staff and their families, we demand Nderitu's immediate resignation and for her to be held accountable for her failure to act in response to mass atrocities in Gaza," states the petition, which was launched in December. "The world is watching, and history will remember the actions taken, or not taken, by the United Nations in response to a genocide unfolding in Gaza."
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
More than a dozen Palestinian human rights groups on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the United Nations Office of Genocide Prevention and its special adviser, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, over their near-total silence as the Israeli military continues its large-scale assault on Gaza's starving population.
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Al-Haq, and other organizations wrote that the "absence of any action in response to the sustained mass atrocities endured by Palestinians in Gaza raises significant concerns about the special adviser's capability to execute her mandate with due effectiveness and impartiality."
The groups argued that the silence from Nderitu is "particularly glaring" now that the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the U.N.'s highest legal body, has ruled that South Africa's genocide case against Israel is plausible and ordered the Israeli military to do everything in its power to prevent genocide.
Other U.N. experts have vocally warned that Palestinians in Gaza are facing a possible genocide at the hands of the Israeli military. In November, eight U.N. special rapporteurs issued a joint statement declaring that "time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza."
"The U.N. cannot afford to stay silent in the face of the genocide currently taking place in Gaza and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
Nderitu, a Kenyan diplomat, expressed alarm on October 15 over "the loss of civilian lives resulting from Israeli bombardments" in Gaza but has not described Israel's actions as possibly genocidal. A review of the U.N. Office on Genocide Prevention's website shows that Nderitu has not issued a public statement on Gaza in nearly four months, even as she has condemned the intensification of violence in Sudan and other countries.
Israeli forces have killed tens of thousands of Gazans since Nderitu's October 15 statement, and nearly the entire population of the enclave has been displaced in those intervening months.
"The gravity of the situation on the ground in Gaza and the urgency it commands intensify our concerns that the special adviser is in dereliction of her duties and responsibilities demanded by her mandate," the Palestinian groups wrote Wednesday. "This failure includes neglecting to raise awareness about Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza or, at the very least, to the alarming risk of genocide; failing to acknowledge the ICJ ruling that Israel is plausibly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza along with the provisional measures ordered for Israel; and refusing to engage meaningfully, meet, or respond to requests from Palestinian human rights organizations."
The groups urged Guterres to launch an investigation into "the reasons behind the failure of both the special adviser and the Office on Genocide Prevention to fulfill their mandates" and to publicly disclose the findings.
"The failure of the international community, including Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, to prevent Israel's genocide in Gaza has tangible consequences on the ground," the new letter reads. "This is evident in the tragic toll of 100,000 Palestinians who have been killed, injured, or are missing, constituting 4% of the total Gaza population. The ongoing mass atrocities in Gaza require an unequivocal response. The U.N. cannot afford to stay silent in the face of the genocide currently taking place in Gaza and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
Nderitu has faced internal criticism at the U.N. over her lack of response to Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.
In late October, dozens of unnamed U.N. staffers signed an internal memo rebuking Nderitu for failing to sufficiently condemn Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and its yearslong blockade, which has denied food, water, and medicine to increasingly desperate Palestinians.
A petition calling for Nderitu's resignation, meanwhile, has garnered more than 21,000 signatures.
"With the official in charge of genocide prevention taking no action despite public pressure, statements by U.N. special rapporteurs, and thousands of civilians killed, including U.N. staff and their families, we demand Nderitu's immediate resignation and for her to be held accountable for her failure to act in response to mass atrocities in Gaza," states the petition, which was launched in December. "The world is watching, and history will remember the actions taken, or not taken, by the United Nations in response to a genocide unfolding in Gaza."
More than a dozen Palestinian human rights groups on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the United Nations Office of Genocide Prevention and its special adviser, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, over their near-total silence as the Israeli military continues its large-scale assault on Gaza's starving population.
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Al-Haq, and other organizations wrote that the "absence of any action in response to the sustained mass atrocities endured by Palestinians in Gaza raises significant concerns about the special adviser's capability to execute her mandate with due effectiveness and impartiality."
The groups argued that the silence from Nderitu is "particularly glaring" now that the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the U.N.'s highest legal body, has ruled that South Africa's genocide case against Israel is plausible and ordered the Israeli military to do everything in its power to prevent genocide.
Other U.N. experts have vocally warned that Palestinians in Gaza are facing a possible genocide at the hands of the Israeli military. In November, eight U.N. special rapporteurs issued a joint statement declaring that "time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza."
"The U.N. cannot afford to stay silent in the face of the genocide currently taking place in Gaza and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
Nderitu, a Kenyan diplomat, expressed alarm on October 15 over "the loss of civilian lives resulting from Israeli bombardments" in Gaza but has not described Israel's actions as possibly genocidal. A review of the U.N. Office on Genocide Prevention's website shows that Nderitu has not issued a public statement on Gaza in nearly four months, even as she has condemned the intensification of violence in Sudan and other countries.
Israeli forces have killed tens of thousands of Gazans since Nderitu's October 15 statement, and nearly the entire population of the enclave has been displaced in those intervening months.
"The gravity of the situation on the ground in Gaza and the urgency it commands intensify our concerns that the special adviser is in dereliction of her duties and responsibilities demanded by her mandate," the Palestinian groups wrote Wednesday. "This failure includes neglecting to raise awareness about Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza or, at the very least, to the alarming risk of genocide; failing to acknowledge the ICJ ruling that Israel is plausibly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza along with the provisional measures ordered for Israel; and refusing to engage meaningfully, meet, or respond to requests from Palestinian human rights organizations."
The groups urged Guterres to launch an investigation into "the reasons behind the failure of both the special adviser and the Office on Genocide Prevention to fulfill their mandates" and to publicly disclose the findings.
"The failure of the international community, including Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, to prevent Israel's genocide in Gaza has tangible consequences on the ground," the new letter reads. "This is evident in the tragic toll of 100,000 Palestinians who have been killed, injured, or are missing, constituting 4% of the total Gaza population. The ongoing mass atrocities in Gaza require an unequivocal response. The U.N. cannot afford to stay silent in the face of the genocide currently taking place in Gaza and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
Nderitu has faced internal criticism at the U.N. over her lack of response to Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.
In late October, dozens of unnamed U.N. staffers signed an internal memo rebuking Nderitu for failing to sufficiently condemn Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and its yearslong blockade, which has denied food, water, and medicine to increasingly desperate Palestinians.
A petition calling for Nderitu's resignation, meanwhile, has garnered more than 21,000 signatures.
"With the official in charge of genocide prevention taking no action despite public pressure, statements by U.N. special rapporteurs, and thousands of civilians killed, including U.N. staff and their families, we demand Nderitu's immediate resignation and for her to be held accountable for her failure to act in response to mass atrocities in Gaza," states the petition, which was launched in December. "The world is watching, and history will remember the actions taken, or not taken, by the United Nations in response to a genocide unfolding in Gaza."