Time To End UN’s Anti-Israel and Anti-American Commission of Inquiry

All three members of a notoriously anti-Israel and anti-American UN commission resigned in recent days.  While a welcome first step, the resignations only take effect after another three months.  In addition, the commission framework itself remains in place, with an irredeemably biased mandate, multi-million dollar budget, and large staff.  The UN has already begun soliciting nominations for replacement commissioners, with no indication that the new ones will be less biased.

Commission Has Endangered U.S. National Security

The commission has, in the process of defaming Israel, misinterpreted and misapplied international law in a manner that impedes the ability of the United States and its NATO allies to defend themselves against terrorism.  For example, by ignoring Hamas’ rampant use of human shields, which is itself a war crime, and instead using the resultant civilian casualties to falsely accuse Israel of war crimes, the commission has incentivized the continued use of human shields by Russia, ISIS, and the Taliban.

Resignations Have Delayed Effect

Formally known as the “Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel,” the commission has had the same three members since its founding in 2021: Navi Pillay (the chair), Miloon Kothari, and Chris Sidoti. Pillay and Sidoti resigned effective November 3; Kothari resigned effective October 31. 

The resolution establishing the commission requires it to submit a report to the General Assembly, which it has done each September. Sidoti’s resignation letter implied that the commissioners plan to issue such a report again this September, noting that his resignation will take effect “at the completion of the Commission’s reporting program for 2025.”  The commissioners seem likely to issue a parting report containing even more egregious falsehoods than in the past.

Resignation’s Connection to Albanese Sanctions

The commissioners’ resignations were announced five days after the United States imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a UN Special Rapporteur for Palestinian rights who was similarly notorious for anti-Israel bias, pursuant to Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court.”  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that Albanese had “directly engaged” with the ICC’s efforts to target U.S. and Israeli citizens notwithstanding that both countries had refused to subject themselves to ICC jurisdiction. 

The commissioners, and indeed the commission itself, could be sanctioned pursuant to the same executive order, since the commission has, under their leadership, collected “evidence” for use against Israeli officials and provided it to the ICC prosecutor. 

Egregiously Biased Commissioners

The three commissioners demonstrated blatant anti-Israel bias before their 2021 appointments and have continued to do so while in office. For example, Pillay in 2020 publicly urged governments to “Sanction Apartheid Israel!” In June 2022, during an official proceeding, Sidoti accused Jews of throwing around accusations of antisemitism “like rice at a wedding.”  In July 2022, Kothari denounced the “Jewish lobby,” which he claimed controls “social media” and has “thrown” around “a lot of money” to discredit him and his fellow commissioners. Two senior U.S. diplomats both called Kothari’s comments “antisemitic” as well as “outrageous, inappropriate, and corrosive.”

The commissioners’ prejudicial statements prior to their appointments, and their blatantly biased comments and publications while in office, mean that both their appointments and their service were contrary to UN ethics rules, which mandate impartiality, objectivity, and professionalism.

Fundamentally Biased Commission Mandate

The commission has a fundamentally flawed mandate, which is clearly designed to generate the false conclusion that Israel is committing apartheid and other crimes. In June 2022, a group of 22 countries, led by the U.S., denounced the commission as exemplifying “the long-standing, disproportionate attention given to Israel” by the UNHRC, and said this disproportionate focus on Israel “must stop.”

Next Steps

The United States should use its leverage over the UN, which receives some 25 percent of its budget from the U.S. government, to put an end to both the commissioners’ abuses and the commission itself.  The three commissioners should be forced to step down immediately, rather than allowed to utilize their lame duck status to issue a final report.  If they do not, they could be sanctioned as was Albanese.  In addition, the commission itself should be shuttered, as its mandate is irredeemably biased.

Orde F. Kittrie is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a law professor at Arizona State University. He previously served for over a decade in legal and policy positions at the U.S. State Department. For more analysis from Orde and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Orde on X @ordefk. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.