Three members of a controversial UN commission investigating alleged war crimes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including its chair, Navi Pillay, resigned on Monday
UN Watch, a Geneva-based organization that monitors UN bodies, hailed the resignations as a “watershed moment of accountability” within what it described as a systemically biased institution. “This week, the dominoes are falling,” said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer. “First, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the historic decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN’s pro-Hamas rapporteur, in wake of a massive campaign led by UN Watch. Now the architects of the UN’s anti-Israel inquisition are fleeing the ship. The tide is turning.”
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The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory
(Photo: Reuters)
In her resignation as chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Pillay— a former UN human rights chief long criticized by Israel for accusing it of war crimes—cited age, health issues and workload as reasons for stepping down, but UN Watch claims U.S. sanctions were the real trigger.
Her colleagues, Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti, also submitted resignation letters. Kothari hinted at “understanding” reached in a closed-door meeting with the Human Rights Council president, likely for having been condemned by 18 states for antisemitism, according to UN Watch.
“The resignation of all three commissioners is long overdue,” said Neuer. “This was a commission born in prejudice — designed to target Israel, while ignoring Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Authority. Its members were selected precisely for their hostility to the Jewish state.”
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UN Watch noted that in 2022, Kothari questioned Israel’s right to UN membership and evoked antisemitic tropes about Jewish control of the media. Sidoti trivialized the issue of antisemitism, claiming that Jews “throw around accusations like rice at a wedding.” Pillay, appointed in 2021, previously lobbied to “sanction apartheid Israel” and led a commission that “generally turned a blind eye to Hamas terrorism and incitement, even after the October 7 massacre.”
“This trio never should have been appointed,” said Neuer. “As documented by UN Watch, their legacy is one of distortion, demonization, and dishonor. Their departure is not reform, it’s damage control.”
According to UN Watch, the resignations came in the wake of mounting pressure triggered by the U.S. government’s decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, who was accused of justifying terrorism.
“The fear of accountability is finally setting in,” Neuer said. “Francesca Albanese was the tip of the spear in the UN’s war on Israel. Now that she’s been sanctioned, others are looking over their shoulders."
UN Watch called on the UN Human Rights Council to dismantle the commission altogether and not appoint replacements. “Replacing one biased trio with another won’t solve the problem,” said Neuer. “This commission is irredeemably flawed—both in mandate and in execution. It must be dismantled. It’s not an inquiry, but an inquisition.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last Wednesday that Albanese was being sanctioned for what he described as “her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt International Criminal Court action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives."
“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” Rubio said. “We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense. The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies."