Iran Slams US Pressures Leading to Sudden Resignation of UN Palestine Inquiry Members
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The resignation of members of the UN commission investigating crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories following the US sanctions on the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Palestine is an alarming sign of erosion of the global legal order, an Iranian spokesman said.
“While the Special Rapporteur on Palestine is bullied & sanctioned by the US, and the UN Palestine inquiry members resign en masse, this means that the international institutions are no longer tolerated to even record the truth,” Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei said in a post on his X account on Thursday.
“The mass resignation of the members of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, following the sanctioning of the Special Rapporteur on Palestine, should not be taken lightly; it is an alarming sign of the erosion of the global legal and normative order,” he warned.
“International institutions are giving up their legitimacy, effectiveness, authority and 'sense of mission' to militant bullying & radical unilateralism,” Baqaei added.
“Future generations would read that the world normative order collapsed not by war, but because of silence, indifference and double-standard in the face of grave injustices,” the Iranian spokesman said.
His comments came after three members of the UN commission investigating crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories suddenly resigned, citing personal reasons.
Navi Pillay, Chris Sidoti and Miloon Kothari, who served on the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, submitted their resignations on Monday.
The commissioners believed the body required renewal and referred to personal factors such as age as part of their decision to leave, according to the Council.
The commission was established to examine alleged violations of international law in the occupied territories, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The resignations come amid heightened tensions between UN and the US about the conduct of Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories.
The US imposed sanctions on Albanese for promoting “anti-Semitic” and “anti-Israel” rhetoric and urging the International Criminal Court to act against the US and Israel.
The US previously demanded her dismissal. In a statement July 1, the US warned that failure to act would damage the UN’s credibility and prompt US action.
The UN’s Special Procedures Committee condemned the sanctions, calling the US move unacceptable.
