UN Human Rights Director resigns, accuses UN of failing to prevent ‘Genocide’ in Gaza
Craig Mokhiber, the director of the New York office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has resigned from his post, accusing the United Nations of "failing" to prevent what he categorizes as genocide of Palestinian civilians in Gaza under Israeli bombardment.
In his resignation letter sent to the UN High Commissioner in Geneva, Volker Turk, Mokhiber cited the US, UK, and much of Europe as "wholly complicit in the horrific assault" and claimed that the UN had become "powerless to stop it."
Mokhiber, who was stepping down due to reaching retirement age, criticized the UN for its failure to prevent previous genocides, including those against the Tutsis in Rwanda, Muslims in Bosnia, the Yazidi in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the Rohingya in Myanmar. He stated that the current situation in Gaza, where Palestinian people are being systematically persecuted, amounts to a "textbook case of genocide" and condemned the international community for refusing to meet their obligations under the Geneva Conventions. He accused the US, UK, and many European countries of arming Israel's assault and providing political and diplomatic cover for it.
In his resignation letter, Mokhiber called for the effective end to the state of Israel, proposing the establishment of a single, democratic secular state in all of historic Palestine with equal rights for Christians, Muslims, and Jews. He also advocated for the dismantling of the "deeply racist, settler-colonial project" and an end to apartheid in the region.
“The current wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people, rooted in an ethno-nationalist colonial settler ideology, in continuation of decades of their systematic persecution and purging, based entirely upon their status as Arabs … leaves no room for doubt.” He added in his letter.
“We must support the establishment of a single, democratic secular state in all of historic Palestine, with equal rights for Christians, Muslims, and Jews,” he wrote, adding: “and, therefore, the dismantling of the deeply racist, settler-colonial project and an end to apartheid across the land.”
Mokhiber, who has worked for the UN since 1992, has been a prominent figure in the organization, leading initiatives related to human rights-based approaches to development and serving as a senior human rights adviser in conflict zones such as Palestine, Afghanistan, and Sudan. His departure from the UN's New York office has sparked mixed reactions.
Louis Charbonneau, the UN director at Human Rights Watch, praised Mokhiber's stance, highlighting his powerful argument against double standards in the UN's approach to Israel and Palestine. Charbonneau emphasized the urgent need for the UN to rectify its human rights stance in the region.
“You don’t have to agree with everything in the letter to see that he’s made a powerful and depressing case that the UN lost its way on human rights when it comes to Israel and Palestine, partly due to pressure from the US, Israel and other governments. It’s not too late to turn the UN ship around, but they need to do it quickly.” Louis added.
However, Anne Bayefsky, director of Touro College’s Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust in New York, accused Mokhiber of "overt antisemitism," claiming that he used a UN letterhead to call for "wiping Israel off the map."
Mokhiber's outspoken resignation has stirred debates about the UN's role in the Israel-Palestine conflict and its commitment to upholding human rights standards in the face of political pressure from influential member states.
The Director of the UN's New York office just resigned after thirty years at the organisation over the UN's handling of the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.
— ✍️🏿ayan (@artan_ayan) October 31, 2023
The entirety of his resignation letter is a necessary read but this first page blew me away. pic.twitter.com/3y9NwgIofP
The #genocide we are witnessing in #Palestine is the product of decades of Israeli #impunity provided by the US & other western governments & decades of #dehumanization of the Palestinian people by western corporate media. Both must end now. Speak up for #HumanRights
— Craig Mokhiber (@CraigMokhiber) October 30, 2023
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
IAF to hold 2-day wargame along frontier with Pakistan: NOTAM issued
New Delhi, May 6 (PTI): The Indian Air Force will carry out a two-day mega military exercise along the border with Pakistan from Wednesday that will involve all the frontline fighter jets including Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar aircraft, sources in the defence establishment said on Tuesday.
The exercise is taking place amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
India's civil aviation authorities have already issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the major air exercise that will largely take place along the southern and western section of the Indo-Pakistan border.
India's frontline fighter jets including the Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft are set to feature in the exercise, the sources said.
In the course of the exercise, the IAF will simulate enemy targets on ground and in the air with deadly precision, they said.
The militaries of both India and Pakistan are on a high alert following rising tensions between the two nations.
Soon after the Pahalgam terror attack, India, citing "cross-border linkages" to the strike, promised severe punishment to those involved in it.
In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass on April 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the armed forces have "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India's response to the terror attack.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met Prime Minister Modi on Sunday and the Chief of Air Staff briefed him about the IAF's operational readiness.
On Saturday, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi apprised the prime minister on the overall situation in the critical sea lanes in the Arabian Sea.
