But nobody who follows these circumstances either from the political side or from the human rights side believes that a two-state solution is possible anymore. Indeed, that is the official position of the United States. Mokhiber: Yes, and it has been for quite a long time, if you ask somebody in their official capacity about the two states, and they will repeat that phrase over and over again as the official position of the United Nations. ![]() Is it really an open joke in the corridors of the United Nations? In your letter, you say the mantra of a two-state solution has become, and I quote, an open joke in the corridors of the United Nations where we are sitting right now. And I feel quite confident as a human rights lawyer in saying that what I see unfolding in Gaza and beyond is genocide.Īl Jazeera: Joe Biden has recently said that after this conflict is over, we need to get back to a two-state solution. As of today, I am an independent citizen, not carrying the institution on my shoulders. Mokhiber: If we can allege that we see war crimes, crimes against humanity, as we have often done, there’s no reason to exclude, where we see very strong evidence, the possibility of genocide being committed, and I think you’re going to be hearing that term more and more in connection with what we’re witnessing in Gaza.īut institutions, of course, have to go through the necessary steps before they can make that pronouncement. Do you think that the secretary-general should start using the term ‘genocide’ when it comes to what we’re seeing in Gaza? He says a previous secretary-general said that that is for courts to decide. The UN needs to get used to addressing these particular violations, just as we have in other situations.Īl Jazeera: When we asked the secretary-general and his office about genocide, he won’t use that term. It’s important that we start using the language that the law sets out, just as you know, in recent times, every major international human rights organisation, Israeli human rights organisations, Palestinian human rights organisations, United Nations human rights mechanisms, independent mechanisms have found that the situation in Israel Palestine amounts to the crime of apartheid. In this case, the intent by Israeli leaders has been so explicitly stated and publicly stated – by the prime minister, by the president, by senior cabinet ministers, by military leaders – that that is an easy case to make. ![]() ![]() The interview has been edited for length and clarity.Īl Jazeera: Why did you come to conclusion that the situation in Gaza amounts to a genocide?Ĭraig Mohkiber: Usually the most difficult part of proving genocide is intent because there has to be an intention to destroy in whole, or in part, a particular group. He asked him about his assessment of the situation in Gaza and the chances of a two-state solution. “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,” Mokhiber said in his letter to the UN human rights chief, Volker Turk.Īl Jazeera’s correspondent at the UN, Gabriel Elizondo, sat down with Mokhiber in New York. Mokhiber, an international human rights lawyer, had been with the UN since 1992 and worked previously as a human rights adviser in Afghanistan and the occupied Palestinian territories.Īt least 8,805 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7 after the armed group Hamas launched a surprise assault on Israel, killing at least 1,400 people and taking more than 200 people captive. Mokhiber’s characterisation that he resigned. The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights disputes Mr. Keep reading list of 4 items list 1 of 4 US rights group urges colleges to protect free speech amid Israel-Gaza war list 2 of 4 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken set to travel to Israel and Jordan list 3 of 4 ‘There are thousands more’: Wounded Palestinians cross into Egypt from Gaza list 4 of 4 Israel bombards Jabalia refugee camp for second straight day end of list
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