Entire UN Panel Targeting Israel Resigns Following U.S. Sanctions Against Special Rapporteur for Palestinians

Latest Developments

Commission Designed to Malign Israel, Panelists Resign: Navi Pillay, chair of an open-ended UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate Israel, has informed the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) president that she will resign effective November 3 due to “age, medical issues and the weight of several other commitments.” Fellow commissioners Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti also submitted their resignations. The UNHRC created the commission in May 2021 to investigate alleged violations of international law leading up to and during the conflict in Gaza earlier that year, with a mandate to determine the “root causes” of the conflict, which, according to Pillay, “is the [Israeli] occupation and part of it lies in apartheid.”
Resignations Come After Sanctions on Israel-Focused Rapporteur: In the week prior to the commissioners’ resignation announcements, Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UNHRC special rapporteur dedicated to scrutinizing Israel, for her role in supporting International Criminal Court (ICC) efforts targeting U.S. and Israeli citizens. The commission panelists met with top ICC staff in The Hague in 2022. In June 2024, the commission stated that it was “cooperating with accountability processes in the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.”
Commission of Inquiry Beset by Panelists’ Antisemitic Remarks: Kothari denounced the “Jewish lobby” during an interview in July 2022, claiming it controls “social media” and has “thrown” around “a lot of money” to discredit him and his fellow commissioners. Sidoti accused Jews of throwing around accusations of antisemitism “like rice at a wedding.” Pillay has dismissed allegations of antisemitism as “offensive” and “a diversion.”

FDD Expert Response

“These three commissioners were a disgrace to the United Nations. Their blatant bias prior to their appointments and their scurrilous anti-American, anti-Israeli, and, in some cases, antisemitic statements while in office mean that both their appointments and their service were contrary to UN ethics rules, which mandate impartiality, objectivity, and professionalism. The three commissioners repeatedly mischaracterized international law in an effort to deprive Israel explicitly, and the United States and its Western allies implicitly, of the right of self-defense against terrorism. The commission itself should now be dismantled, as its mandate is irreparably biased.” — Orde Kittrie, Senior Fellow

“The commission of inquiry’s one-sided nature and antisemitic composition are no accident. The panel was designed to blame Israelis for being attacked, murdered, and raped at the hands of Palestinian terrorists. The Israel-obsessed UN system views Israeli actions as the ‘root cause’ of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This narrative is not only ahistorical, but it also is designed to prevent Israel from defending itself against genocidal enemies.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst

“While these resignations are both welcome and long overdue, they will not change the fundamental reality confronting Israel at the United Nations. Discrimination against Israel in the world body isn’t an occasional aberration but is rather built into its very structures. As long as this complex of UN bodies, agencies, and commissions serving the Palestinian war against Israel persists, the Jewish state can never expect equal treatment.” — Ben Cohen, Senior Analyst and Rapid Response Director