Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the United Nations' Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, will not have her contract renewed on Wednesday, reportedly over her belief that Israel’s war against Hamas is not genocide.
In 2022, her office released a paper that details “when to refer to a situation as ‘genocide,’” with findings at odds with a recent document published by the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices. As The Wall Street Journal editorial board highlights, that Nov. 14 report said it found “serious concerns of breaches of international humanitarian and human rights laws” and “the possibility of genocide in Gaza and an apartheid system in the West Bank.”
The committee is taking its cues from Austrian Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has spent the past year assailing Israel. His claims are often echoed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Israel’s critics. The committee is comprised of member states Malaysia, Senegal and Sri Lanka. Senegal and Malaysia are majority Muslim nations with a history of hostility to Israel.
Ms. Nderitu serves at the pleasure of Mr. Gutterres, and Mr. Turk and the anti-Israel faction want her out. A U.N. spokesman sent us a statement that “Alice Nderitu is leaving the U.N. as her contract is expiring.” It added that “genocide is strictly defined in international law and any legal determination” is made by “appropriate judicial bodies.” (WSJ)
As the editorial board notes, the Secretary-General could have extended Nderitu’s contract, which frequently occurs when terms expire, but didn’t.
“Ms. Nderitu’s removal is a political choice,” the editorial board writes.
"Beyond Ms. Nderitu’s fate, the damage here includes defining genocide down," they continue. "The word has become a weapon of political propaganda that will erode its moral authority when it’s needed to describe genuine horrors.
"Ms. Nderitu may be out, but her refusal to endorse a lie in service of a political agenda has been a profile in courage" the piece adds.
Alice Nderitu said Israel’s campaign in Gaza doesn’t meet the definition of genocide. She was fired. Can anyone with integrity survive at the U.N.?https://t.co/niFr17eLsn
— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) November 26, 2024
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