It is important to call a genocide a genocide, UN experts told the UN Palestinian Rights Committee during a Briefing “International legal responsibilities for preventing genocide, holding perpetrators of war crimes accountable, and for ending the unlawful occupation of Palestine” on 31 October 2024 as they called on all States to examine their relationships and avoid being complicit in this crime being committed by Israel on the Palestinian people in Gaza.

“If you go to a doctor because you have cancer and you are diagnosed with fever, you have a big problem — it's the same with the people who are being genocided,” said Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territory Occupied Since 1967, during a briefing on the international legal responsibilities for preventing genocide, holding perpetrators of war crimes accountable, and for ending the unlawful occupation of Palestine.

Describing herself as “a reluctant chronicler of genocide,” Ms. Albanese said the international community must recognize what is happening in Gaza as a genocide and “understand the bigger design behind what's happening in Palestine today”. It is not simply war crimes and crimes against humanity that the Palestinians are experiencing — “they have experienced those through their entire life,” she said, but the current situation is different.

At the beginning of the meeting, Cheikh Niang (Senegal), Committee Chair, commended the work of UN experts in investigating and documenting what has been happening. They have sifted through vast amounts of documents and testimonies, gathered evidence and separated facts from misinformation. Their “efforts are vital, not only for telling the story of Gaza, but more importantly for ensuring accountability”, he said.

More details: https://www.un.org/unispal/briefingi...

Read the Chair Summary of the event: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/c...

1:57 Chair's opening remarks
12:00 Ambassador Feda Abdelhady's remarks (State of Palestine)
24:17 Briefing by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967
35:36 Briefing by Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
45:22 Briefing by Christ Sidoti, Member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
1:03:40 Briefing by Diana Buttu, Independent Commission for Human Rights of Palestine
1:16:05 Briefing by Anisha Patel, Law for Palestine
1:58:08 Francesca Albanese's repose to questions from the Member States