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UN experts: "Israel is exterminating the people of Gaza by any and all means." (Press Release)
Press releaseGaza: “Never again” giving way to endless decimation of displaced Palestinians, warn UN experts
07 August 2025
GENEVA – A group of UN experts* today decried Israel’s escalation of its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza, while calling on the international community to end its complicity in the face of Israeli atrocities as ceasefire talks continue without progress.
“Displacement orders from the Israeli authorities have targeted the last vestiges of the international humanitarian response in Gaza, as have direct attacks like the recent deadly airstrike on the Palestine Red Crescent Society,” the experts said.
“This comes as the people of Gaza – above all, children – are dying en masse of starvation coupled with a lack of access to food, water, healthcare and shelter,” they said. “So-called ‘humanitarian pauses’ and airdrops are insufficient to address a crisis of this scale. Unrestricted and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance must be allowed into Gaza.”
The experts stressed that Israel’s illegal restrictions on humanitarian aid have inflicted conditions of life on the people of Gaza that are currently bringing about their physical destruction. They recalled this constitutes an act punishable under international law as genocide, as does the mass killing and maiming of Palestinians in Gaza.
“Israel is exterminating the people of Gaza by any and all means,” the experts said. “Over a thousand Palestinians have been slaughtered by Israeli forces as they line up for humanitarian assistance.”
Seventy per cent of these killings have taken place at sites established by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the United States and Israel. These deaths add to the more than 59,000 Palestinians killed and 140,000 injured during Israel’s indiscriminate assault on Gaza.
The experts warned that displacement orders have confined Gaza’s entire surviving population to a mere 12 per cent of the Strip’s territory.
“Israeli proposals to further forcibly transfer Gaza’s population to a so-called ‘humanitarian city’ on the border with Egypt can only be seen as an attempt to create a concentration camp with conditions so dire that Gazans will ultimately be forced from their homeland,” they said.
The experts urged the international community to take long-overdue measures to protect Palestinians and hold Israel accountable.
“Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people is enabled by the complicity of States that continue to shield Israel from the political and diplomatic consequences of its actions – choosing instead to suppress the free speech of their own citizens who speak out against these horrendous crimes while continuing to provide Israel with arms, trade, and economic assistance,” they said.
“Furthermore, the United Nations has yet to definitively refer to the situation in Gaza as a genocide, despite irrefutable evidence of Israel committing multiple prohibited acts under the Genocide Convention and public statements from Israel’s leadership calling for the continued starvation of Gaza,” the experts said.
They also noted that the European Union has failed to adopt any measures to sanction Israel for breaching its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
“Without urgent international action, the words ‘never again’ will refer not to the prevention of genocide, but to the existence of Palestinian life in Gaza,” the experts said.
*The experts:
Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
George Katrougalos, Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food
Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967
The Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/gaza-never-again-giving-way-endless-decimation-displaced-palestinians-warn
Tagged under GENOCIDE
103 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
you said
Francesca Albanese is no longer associated with the U.N.
That is false:
Read Ms. Francesca Albanese full biography.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-palestine/francesca-albanese-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-palestinian-territory-occupied-1967
https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-palestine/francesca-albanese-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-palestinian-territory-occupied-1967
https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2025/08/us-sanctions-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-threaten-human-rights-system
GENEVA – UN human rights experts* today expressed their continued support for human rights principles and fundamental standards that underpin international human rights and humanitarian law and condemned the United States’ decision to impose sanctions on the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese. They issued the following statement:
“Echoing the statement issued by the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council on 10 July 2025, we unconditionally denounce the United States' decision to impose sanctions on the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and reaffirm our commitment to defending fundamental human rights principles against efforts to undermine them and intimidate or silence those working to defend them. We express our full solidarity with Francesca Albanese, whose mandate and reporting are essential to upholding international legal standards and accountability.
The Special Rapporteur's work represents a principled commitment to a human rights mandate, providing rigorous, independent analysis of grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territories, including forcible transfer, systemic discrimination and a wide range of international crimes, several of them targeting or particularly affecting women and children. In fulfilling this responsibility, Albanese has come under significant pressure, underscoring the importance of safeguarding impartial and evidence-based human rights reporting. This mandate plays an essential role in documenting structural injustice and advancing accountability under international law—an endeavour that must be upheld and protected.
Sanctioning the Special Rapporteur for fulfilling this responsibility, which is mandated by the Human Rights Council, is a direct attack on the integrity of the UN human rights system. These measures violate international law, including the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. The 1946 Convention accords UN experts such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their functions. Violating this framework sends a dangerous message, threatens the independence of the Special Procedures system and has a chilling effect on global human rights advocacy. States that disagree with the views of UN experts should constructively engage with them through established processes of diplomatic dialogue.
The targeting of the Special Rapporteur cannot be separated from the egregious international crimes and human rights abuses being perpetrated against Palestinians and the longstanding efforts to delegitimise those who defend their rights. The prejudice and threats faced by human rights defenders – whether they are scholars, civil society actors, UN officials or experts – reflect a broader strategy of silencing dissent and shielding abusive power structures from scrutiny. We call on all States to expressly condemn these sanctions and refuse to cooperate in carrying them out and reaffirm their commitment to the UN Special Rapporteurs, Working Groups and Independent Experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.”
The Special Rapporteur's work represents a principled commitment to a human rights mandate, providing rigorous, independent analysis of grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territories, including forcible transfer, systemic discrimination and a wide range of international crimes, several of them targeting or particularly affecting women and children. In fulfilling this responsibility, Albanese has come under significant pressure, underscoring the importance of safeguarding impartial and evidence-based human rights reporting. This mandate plays an essential role in documenting structural injustice and advancing accountability under international law—an endeavour that must be upheld and protected.
Sanctioning the Special Rapporteur for fulfilling this responsibility, which is mandated by the Human Rights Council, is a direct attack on the integrity of the UN human rights system. These measures violate international law, including the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. The 1946 Convention accords UN experts such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their functions. Violating this framework sends a dangerous message, threatens the independence of the Special Procedures system and has a chilling effect on global human rights advocacy. States that disagree with the views of UN experts should constructively engage with them through established processes of diplomatic dialogue.
The targeting of the Special Rapporteur cannot be separated from the egregious international crimes and human rights abuses being perpetrated against Palestinians and the longstanding efforts to delegitimise those who defend their rights. The prejudice and threats faced by human rights defenders – whether they are scholars, civil society actors, UN officials or experts – reflect a broader strategy of silencing dissent and shielding abusive power structures from scrutiny. We call on all States to expressly condemn these sanctions and refuse to cooperate in carrying them out and reaffirm their commitment to the UN Special Rapporteurs, Working Groups and Independent Experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.”
occupied since 1967.
Did you mean to reply to me? Your link is just further proof that I was correct when I said the claim made was false.
the claim was:
Francesca Albanese is no longer associated with the U.N.
Which IS a false claim, as fully shown by me and also, ironically, by your own link.
Albanese IS still the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, EOS.
The claim was false.
You cannot spin your way out of the fact that claim I called out (correctly) as false WAS false.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-palestine
who would be considered impartial? Anybody, anywhere? 
Special Rapporteur on Torture warns cruelty is becoming the enemy of peace in Gaza, and calls for release of hostages
GENEVA - The Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, repeats her urgent calls for the unconditional and immediate release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, after videos and photographs of emaciated hostages were released over the weekend.
“Cruelty is being used as psychological warfare, with devastating consequences for individuals, families, societies and for peace,” said the expert. “This war more than most is also being fought in the public arena of the media with images of suffering hitting our screens every day,” she said.
“Today I am reminding not only Hamas and other armed groups, but also anyone who is harbouring the hostages, that aiding and abetting hostage-taking is an international crime,” the expert said. “Anyone involved must be held to account for their involvement in a court of law.”
“I further appeal to all States with influence to help break the stalemate over ceasefire negotiations, for international observers to be given immediate access to every person who is being held hostage or detained, and for the parties to this awful conflict to put down their arms and negotiate, once and for all, a comprehensive peace settlement”, Edwards said.
GENEVA - The Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, repeats her urgent calls for the unconditional and immediate release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, after videos and photographs of emaciated hostages were released over the weekend.
“Cruelty is being used as psychological warfare, with devastating consequences for individuals, families, societies and for peace,” said the expert. “This war more than most is also being fought in the public arena of the media with images of suffering hitting our screens every day,” she said.
“Today I am reminding not only Hamas and other armed groups, but also anyone who is harbouring the hostages, that aiding and abetting hostage-taking is an international crime,” the expert said. “Anyone involved must be held to account for their involvement in a court of law.”
“I further appeal to all States with influence to help break the stalemate over ceasefire negotiations, for international observers to be given immediate access to every person who is being held hostage or detained, and for the parties to this awful conflict to put down their arms and negotiate, once and for all, a comprehensive peace settlement”, Edwards said.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/special-rapporteur-torture-warns-cruelty-becoming-enemy-peace-gaza-and-calls
-------------------------------------
UN Human Rights Council.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures-human-rights-council/special-procedures-human-rights-council
The Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. The system of Special Procedures is a central element of the United Nations human rights machinery and covers all human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political, and social.
In the context of the 2011 review of its work and functioning, the Human Rights Council:
reaffirmed the obligation of States to cooperate with the Special Procedures,
reiterated the integrity and independence of Special Procedures,
reaffirmed the principles of cooperation, transparency and accountability and the role of the system of Special Procedures in enhancing the capacity of the Human Rights Council to address human rights situations.
Member States confirmed their strong opposition to reprisals against persons cooperating with the United Nations and its human rights mechanism and representatives.
The Council further recognized the importance of ensuring transparent, adequate and equitable funding to support all Special Procedures according to their specific needs (see HRC resolution 16/21).
snip
https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures-human-rights-council/special-procedures-human-rights-council
The Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. The system of Special Procedures is a central element of the United Nations human rights machinery and covers all human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political, and social.
In the context of the 2011 review of its work and functioning, the Human Rights Council:
reaffirmed the obligation of States to cooperate with the Special Procedures,
reiterated the integrity and independence of Special Procedures,
reaffirmed the principles of cooperation, transparency and accountability and the role of the system of Special Procedures in enhancing the capacity of the Human Rights Council to address human rights situations.
Member States confirmed their strong opposition to reprisals against persons cooperating with the United Nations and its human rights mechanism and representatives.
The Council further recognized the importance of ensuring transparent, adequate and equitable funding to support all Special Procedures according to their specific needs (see HRC resolution 16/21).
snip
Remember, the UN is antisemitic, American doctors are antisemitic, American journalists are antisemitic, the internet is antisemitic, college students are antisemitic, your eyes are antisemitic, your ears are antisemitic. Even the skies above are antisemitic now. 
France, Germany, and President Biden's UN Ambassador, US Ambassador the the Human Rights Council, and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism have all called out Albanese's anti-Semitism.
President Biden's US Ambassador to the Human Rights Council and his Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism
-----------------------------------------------------
President Biden's Ambassador to the UN
US reiterates opposition to ‘unfit’ UN Palestinian rapporteur Francesca Albanese
The US reiterates its opposition to UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese as she arrives in New York for a series of engagements.
“I want to reiterate the US belief she is unfit for her role,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield tweets of Albanese, who has faced repeated accusations of having made antisemitic statements in her criticism of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians.
The Biden administration has stopped short of publicly calling for her removal but has sharpened its tone against Albanese in recent months, with several senior officials publicly calling her unfit and rejecting her mandate altogether.
“The United Nations should not tolerate antisemitism from a UN-affiliated official hired to promote human rights,” Thomas-Greenfield tweets.
The US reiterates its opposition to UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese as she arrives in New York for a series of engagements.
“I want to reiterate the US belief she is unfit for her role,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield tweets of Albanese, who has faced repeated accusations of having made antisemitic statements in her criticism of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians.
The Biden administration has stopped short of publicly calling for her removal but has sharpened its tone against Albanese in recent months, with several senior officials publicly calling her unfit and rejecting her mandate altogether.
“The United Nations should not tolerate antisemitism from a UN-affiliated official hired to promote human rights,” Thomas-Greenfield tweets.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-palestinian-rights-officials-social-media-history-reveals-antisemitic-comments/
We had someone here last week insisting that Israel had a "Starvation Plan" in place in October 2023.
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