GENEVA, August 28, 2025 (WAFA) – More than 500 employees of the United Nations have urged High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk to publicly characterize Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza as a “genocide,” warning that avoiding such a designation weakens the UN’s global human rights mandate.

The appeal came in a letter sent by the Staff Committee on behalf of hundreds of staff members at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva. 

The letter said staff believe the legal threshold for genocide has already been reached, pointing to extensive documentation by UN mechanisms and independent experts. They argued that the OHCHR should acknowledge this assessment openly, stressing that continued hesitation threatens the office’s standing as the world’s leading human rights authority.

The employees also voiced deep frustration over the widespread violations and their toll on civilians, particularly women and children, and warned that the UN must not repeat past failures such as its silence during the Rwandan genocide.

According to Reuters, Turk responded by recognizing the gravity of the concerns raised. OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the war had shaken staff profoundly and made documenting the abuses especially difficult, adding that internal discussions on the issue are ongoing.

An increasing number of world leaders, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have characterized Israel’s war on Gaza as genocide.

The United Nations, however, has refrained from using the term, maintaining that it is the responsibility of international courts to make such a determination.

In December 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice accusing it of genocide, though proceedings remain ongoing.

M.N