Hundreds of UN staff have asked Volker Turk at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to explicitly describe the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The letter said the staff consider the legal criteria for genocide in the nearly two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza have been met, citing the scale, scope, and nature of violations documented there. “OHCHR has a strong legal and moral responsibility to denounce acts of genocide,” said the letter signed by the Staff Committee on behalf of over 500 employees. They called on Turk to take a “clear and public position. Failing to denounce an unfolding genocide undermines the credibility of the UN and the human rights system itself.” The letter cited the international body’s perceived moral failure for not doing more to stop the 1994 Rwanda genocide that killed more than 1 million people.
Turk has the full and unconditional support of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, adding: “Labelling of an event as a genocide is up to a competent legal authority.” There was no immediate response from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Israel has previously rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, citing its right to self-defense following the deadly October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages. The subsequent war in Gaza has killed almost 63,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, while a global hunger monitor says that part of it is suffering from famine.
The appeal to Turk, an Austrian lawyer who has worked for the United Nations for decades, was backed by around a quarter of his 2,000 global staff. Some rights groups like Amnesty International have already accused Israel of committing genocide, and an independent UN expert, Francesca Albanese, has also used the term, but not the United Nations itself. UN officials have in the past said that it is up to international courts to determine genocide. In 2023, South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel’s actions in Gaza to the International Court of Justice, but the case has not yet been heard on its merits, a process that can take years.
“The situation in Gaza has shaken us all to our core,” said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, citing difficult circumstances faced by the office as it tries to document facts and raise the alarm. “There have been and will continue to be discussions internally on how to move forward,” she said about the letter. Turk, who has repeatedly condemned Israel's actions in Gaza and warned of the increasing risk of atrocity crimes, said the letter raised important concerns. “I know we all share a feeling of moral indignation at the horrors we are witnessing, as well as frustration in the face of the international community’s inability to bring this situation to an end,” he said in a copy of his response seen by Reuters, calling for employees to “remain united as an Office in the face of such adversity.”
Biblical Connections: Shortly after the events of October 7, 2023, most of the world was in support of Israel defending itself and trying to get the hostages free. However, as the war has continued, antisemitism has caused many throughout the world to turn on the Jewish people once again. Throughout the Bible the Jewish people have been hated and the Book of Revelation says that they will again be hated in the future Tribulation.
PRAY: Pray that the people of Israel will be able to defend themselves without being constantly attacked and accused of genocide in the public square.