New York

Craig Mokhiber, director of the New York office of the UN High Commissioner for human rights, has stepped down from his position after protesting what he has called a "text book case of genocide" in the Gaza Strip. As reported by multiple media outlets, Mokhiber has said this in his resignation letter in addition to other serious assertions.

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Saying that this will be his last communication to UN High Commissioner in Geneva Volker Turk, Mokhiber has said that the United Nations was "failing" to do its duty as Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues.

He alleged that the US, the UK and large number of countries in Europe were "wholly complicit in the horrific assault". Mokhiber wrote to the UN high commissioner on October 28.

“Once again we are seeing a genocide unfolding before our eyes and the organization we serve appears powerless to stop it,” he said as reported by The Guardian.

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In his letter, Mokhiber also said the there have been number of occasions in past when the United Nations has failed to stop a genocide mentioning the Rwandan genocide, Muslims in Bosnia, Yazidis in Iraqi Kurdistan and Rohingya in Myanmar.

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“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 stated that not only the West was "refusing to meet their treaty obligation" under Geneva Conventions but were also arming Israel in addition to providing political and diplomatic cover.

“We must support the establishment of a single, democratic secular state in all of historic Palestine, with equal rights for Christians, Muslims, and Jews,” he wrote, adding: “and, therefore, the dismantling of the deeply racist, settler-colonial project and an end to apartheid across the land.”

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Mokhiber has been part of the UN since 1992. He served in a number of prominent roles. He has served as a senior human rights adviser in Palestine, Afghanistan and Sudan..

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The resignation letter has expectedly stirred conversation on social media. Several journalists and academics have begun posting the resignation letter on social media platforms like X. 

The Guardian has quoted a UN spokesperson who said that these were Mokhiber's "personal views".

“I can confirm that he is retiring today. He informed the UN in March 2023 of his upcoming retirement, which takes effect tomorrow. The views in his letter made public today are his personal views,” said the spokesperson.