The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | HRC
Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
At UN, war crimes probe pledges to continue to work for all impacted by Hamas-Israel conflict
As President Trump launched the international Board of Peace plan for Gaza on Thursday, top independent rights experts tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating grave abuses linked to the Hamas-Israel war pledged to continue their work seeking justice and accountability for all.
“The Board of Peace has been set up pursuant to a plan that was submitted to the Security Council that has been voted upon and accepted,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in Israel. “As a Commission of Inquiry, we see our task as investigating into violations of human rights. And that task we understand to be the mandate that the UN has given us - and we will continue with that mandate.”
The Commission of Inquiry – one of the Human Rights Council’s top investigative mechanisms - was set up by the forum’s 47 Member States in May 2021. In November last year, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2803 welcoming the establishment of the Board of Peace to redevelop Gaza.
Last September, the Commission’s then Chair, former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay, declared that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in response to Hamas-led terror attacks that killed some 1,200 people in Israel in October 2023, sparking the war. Israel strongly denied that claim.
“We need to investigate violations of human rights by all duty-bearers and in both territories,” said Mr. Muralidhar, who expressed hope that the Commission’s earlier findings “hopefully will feed into some adjudicatory system to deliver lasting justice to the people in those in these two territories”.
On the agenda this year, the Commission plans to investigate “attacks by armed Palestinian militias on others within these two territories”, he continued, before stressing the independent nature of the panel.
Responding to questions about the Board of Peace, the chief investigator said that he expected the peace plan it was pursuing “to accommodate the interests of all the people in the conflict zone”.
At a press conference in Geneva, the panel of independent human rights experts – who do not work for the UN and are not paid for their work – also condemned the reported killing of three Palestinian journalists in central Gaza in a reported Israeli airstrike on Wednesday.
“When you're killing a journalist, it means you have something to hide, because if you have nothing to hide, you are going to call the journalist so that they look at what is happening and tell the world,” said Florence Mumba, Commissioner. “Because without journalists, many people in other corners of the world wouldn't know what is happening. So, we feel concerned about that disruption of the work of the journalists and we do hope as a Commission that journalists will not be deterred.”
Commission of Inquiry on OPT including East Jerusalem and Israel
TRT: 2’33”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 22 JANUARY 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Speakers:
- Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel;
- Florence Mumba, Commissioner;
- Chris Sidoti, Commissioner.
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide, UN Geneva Press room, podium speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission: “We need to investigate violations of human rights by all duty-bearers and in both territories. For instance, we will be looking at even the attacks by armed Palestinian militias on others within these two territories; so, we wish to emphasise that this is an independent investigating body.”
- Wide, podium speakers, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission: “The Board of Peace has been set up pursuant to a plan that was submitted to the Security Council that has been voted upon and accepted. As a Commission of Inquiry, we see our task as investigating into violations of human rights. And that task we understand to be the mandate that the UN has given us and we will continue with that mandate.”
- Medium-wide, TV screens showing podium speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission: “We expect the peace plan to accommodate the interests of all the people in the conflict zone. And we don't find anything there that can possibly hinder the work of this Commission and we would expect, as we always did earlier, the complete cooperation of all the authorities in both territories of Israel and Palestine.”
- Medium-wide, podium speakers, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Chris Sidoti, Commissioner: “Israel needs to think very carefully before it rejects the work that UNRWA has done, the important work that has relieved Israel of its obligations; and of course, there will be consequences for human rights because of what UNRWA has done; children have a right to education, all people have a right to the highest attainable standard [of] physical and mental health.”
- Medium-wide, podium speakers, TV screen showing speaker, photographer.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Florence Mumba, Commissioner: “When you're killing a journalist, it means you have something to hide, because if you have nothing to hide, you are going to call the journalist so that they look at what is happening and tell the world. Because without journalists, many people in other corners of the world wouldn't know what is happening. So, we feel concerned about that disruption of the work of the journalists and we do hope as a Commission that journalists will not be deterred.”
- Medium, journalist.
- Medium, photographer.
- Medium, journalist.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Six weeks after Nepal’s deadly flooding disaster, communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives, but they will need sustained help as global warming increases the risk of another Himalayan catastrophe, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Statements , Press Conferences | OHCHR
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , UNICEF , IFRC , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , IOM , OCHA , WHO
UNHCR – ExCom Meeting, UNICEF – Nepal Recovery, IFRC – Flash Floods, WHO – Mental Health, IOM – South Sudan Floods, OCHA – DRC Humanitarian aid, UNHCR – Sahel Displacement, UNICEF – Yemen Update, IOM – Gaza Shelter, UN Women – Gaza Women, OHCHR – Arrests and detentions of Syrians by Israeli force
2
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Presentation of the Trade and Developement Report 2026
Embargoed until 9 October 2026 at 11 a.m. (Geneva Time)
UNCTAD: UNCTAD’s flagship report finds that governments increasingly use industrial, trade, financial and technology policies to pursue economic and national security objectives. Market access and the ability to move into higher-value activities now depend more heavily on technology, finance and geopolitics.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UPU
Release of the State of the Postal Sector Report 2026
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , ITU , UNECE , UNICEF , WHO , WMO
UNICEF: Ebola, DRC - children orphans or separating them from parents and caregivers; IOM: Humanitarian needs in Djibouti amid arrivals from Yemen and increased migrant movements; WHO: Darfur, scale of health needs far exceeds available resources; WMO co-sponsored Global Heat Forum, Bangkok, monthly Global Seasonal Climate Update; UNECE: UN Forum of Mayors; ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2026; WHO: child and adolescent obesity guidelines and new global roadmap to tackle pregnancy hypertension, a leading cause of maternal mortality
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , WFP , WHO , WTO , UNEP
OCHA – $160M CERF allocation to 12 underfunded crises; UNHCR – 5.8M refugee children remain out of school amid funding cuts; UN Women – Middle East escalation and food security among women/girls; WHO – Gaza supplies and overall situation; WFP – Yemen food insecurity and impact on global hunger ; UNEP - First International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals in Geneva | 16-20 November 2026
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.