The UN Commission of Inquiry’s Second Report: The Continued Assault on Israel
On October 27, 2022, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) “Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel” (COI) presented its second report at the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.
In it, the COI purports to “investigat[e] the human rights and legal consequences of the prolonged occupation, including whether, as part of its occupation regime, Israel has, to all intents and purposes, ‘annexed’ wholly or partly the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and providing concrete recommendations to relevant stakeholders.”
These “concrete recommendations” included a call for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to “advise on the legal consequences of the continued refusal by Israel to end its occupation,” and for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “prioritize the investigation into the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The Commission also promoted discriminatory BDS campaigns, stressing that “business enterprises are contributing to Israel’s expropriation and exploitation of Palestinian land and resources and are supporting the transfer of Israeli population into the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
In June 2022, following the presentation of its first report, Navi Pillay, Chair of the COI, claimed that the second report would be on “all the resolutions, including security council resolutions, human rights council resolutions and resolutions passed by other independent UN and international bodies.” The factors that caused the COI to change focus are unclear.
Failure to Address Commissioners’ Antisemitism
In issuing its second report, the members of the COI ignored the numerous condemnations of the antisemitic statements they had made since the COI began.
In June 2022, speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, Commissioner Chris Sidoti appeared to trivialize the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) consensus-building definition of antisemitism by dismissing it as “the definition of antisemitism promoted by the government of Israel, and its GONGOS.” He contended that “accusations of antisemitism are thrown around like rice at a wedding,” and claims that such accusations “legitimize” antisemitism.
In July 2022, Commissioner Miloon Kothari also made antisemitic comments on a podcast, claiming that the “Jewish lobby” controls social media and questioned whether Israel should have UN membership. In a letter to UNHRC President Federico Villegas, Pillay refused to condemn Kothari’s remarks, stating his comments “have deliberately been taken out of context…[and] deliberately misquoted.”
Dozens of countries, as well as UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed, and HRC President Federico Villegas condemned these remarks. (Read NGO Monitor’s letter to United Nations Human Rights Council President Federico Villegas calling on him to initiate an assessment of the UNHRC’s Commission of Inquiry on Israel for violations of the mandate and UN codes of conduct as well as NGO Monitor’s joint letter to the UNHRC President calling for the removal of the Commissioners due to their antisemitic biases. NGO Monitor has also thoroughly documented the Commissioners’ prior anti-Israel biases and their links to Palestinian NGOs in detailed reports.)
Nevertheless, no punitive action was taken against the COI or its commissioners, and the COI report made no mention of the controversy. As a result, following the presentation of the report, many countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Federated States of Micronesia, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Republic of Nauru, and the United States, again condemned the antisemitism exhibited by the Commissioners. Many of these countries also denounced the inaction of the United Nations to repudiate these statements or remove the Commissioners from their positions.
Once again, Navi Pillay ignored this glaring criticism, and made several false and dismissive statements in response to the State remarks. Pillay falsely claimed, “This has been dealt fully by the President of the Human Rights Council, who is the proper authority to clear up criticism of the mandate and clear up criticism of those he selected for appointment as commissioners. So I do encourage you to look at the President’s website on that.” To date, the President has taken no action. Pillay also rejected claims of antisemitism, stating that “I’m 81 years old now, and this is a very first time I’ve been accused of antisemitism. In my own country, that will not be received well because everybody knows the role I played, and similarly with the other two commissioners. So let me make absolutely clear, we are not antisemitic.” These remarks represented yet another attempt by Pillay to whitewash the clear antisemitism expressed by the Commissioners and to absolve herself and the COI from taking the necessary concrete steps to address the deep-seated problems.
Background on the COI
Topics in the Report