Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel

Press Conference: Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel

26:29

MP4

1.7 GB

22-01-2026

Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | HRC

Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel

ENG FRA

Shotlist Story

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.

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.”

Teleprompter

[Other language spoken]

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for this press conference in Geneva with the newly appointed members of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including E Jerusalem and Israel.

We're delighted to have with us all three members, all three new members of the Commission who wanted to take this opportunity to introduce themselves and answer any questions that you may have.

We'll start off with introductory remarks by the Chair and then the fellow Commissioners, and then we will open the floor to your questions.

[Other language spoken]

Sorry, good morning, everyone.

[Other language spoken]

I'm the chair of the newly constituted Commissioner of Inquiry to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law in the two territories of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which includes E Jerusalem and Israel.

To my left is Justice Florence Mambach.

She's a former judge of the Supreme Court of Zambia and comes with a vast experience having served earlier on the International Commission for Yugoslavia and later Cambodia.

And to my right is Commissioner Chris Sidoti, a senior lawyer from Australia with a stellar record of human rights work and has had experience in the UN system.

He has served at the Fact Finding Mission from Myanmar recently and he was part of the this Commission where it was first constituted and continues to be here, much to a delight.

This week we visited Geneva to meet with UN counterparts and Member States as our first mission as the new Commissioners of this Commission of Enquiry.

I want to emphasise that it is an independent Commission and it is meant to investigate all violations by all duty bearers, whether in Palestine or in Israel.

We take on this mandate with a profound sense of duty and optimism.

The Commission's work will continue with steadfast dedication, guided by its unique and robust mandate, important work carried out by our predecessors, the professionalism of its secretariat, and the shared belief that human rights and accountability are the foundation of lasting peace.

I want to add that meeting with the entire team for both Justice Mumbai and me was very productive.

We have an excellent team of professionals who are going beyond their Call of Duty to give off the best for this Commission's work.

In the coming months we expect to engage with the States of Israel and Palestine and the Israeli and Palestinian civil society organisations to introduce ourselves, listen and learn from those living the realities we are asked to examine.

Their voices will guide and inform the future direction of our work as we strive to make our reports and investigations meaningful, relevant and grounded in the lived experiences of people on the ground.

I wish to add that this intends to be a people centred Commission.

We'd like to hear the voices of people in both the territories of Israel and Palestine, and we reach out to them to come forth with their stories, their grievances, and we will do our best to investigate each and every one of them.

History reminds us that even in the darkest moments, amid conflict, oppression and despair, resilience endures.

It is in this endurance and in the persistent pursuit of international justice that we find hope.

That hope is not passive.

It is the engine of progress and the very reason for our work.

Our responsibility is to transform that hope into action by pursuing truth, advancing accountability, and contributing to end cycles of violence and suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Thank you for your attention, commitment and continued support for the vital work of this Commission.

[Other language spoken]

When I was asked whether I could save on this Commission, I felt challenged because I realised that we are dealing with an ongoing conflict situation and we are getting all the news about the people who are suffering, especially children and teenagers, the young people, the people we look to for the future.

So I looked at the reports that the Commission has produced so far and the work that is going on in our International Commission of Justice and in the International Criminal Court.

I realised that this is a profound responsibility because we need to look into the affairs of the conflict situation, look at the people, hear them, listen to them, analyse the evidence and make it clear that the evidence our reports are relying on is credible.

So going on the ground by our staff, so competent, has been a cornerstone of all the reports produced so far and I support the reports.

I hope that I'll be able to continue where our predecessors left off so that this Commission continues to be 1 of credibility, reliability as far as the evidence is concerned.

And we are placing the record for the future because these reports that we shall be producing will also be relevant to the future situations.

So I thank you for this opportunity.

I think that many of you know me already.

I've been around for a while.

When we 3 commissioners gave the president of the Human Rights Council our resignations in July last year, I indicated that if the President wished to reappoint me, I would be willing to accept reappointment.

As it happened, he asked me to continue for the sake of continuity, so that there was 1 commissioner amongst the three who had served on the previous Commission.

The first Commission, I guess we call it, even though it's the same body and could carry forward the work of the first Commission into the second.

I was and am absolutely delighted and excited by the opportunity to work with Chairperson Muralida and Commissioner Mumba.

They are two extraordinarily eminent jurists who have served on courts in their own countries and in Commissioner Mumba's case on International Criminal tribunals.

So people of of great capacity and experience and for me it's wonderful to have a chance to work with them.

I am not excited or pleased or delighted to be reappointed to the Commission.

It is a tragedy that the events on the ground in Israel and Palestine make the continued existence of this Commission essential and it's work so important, even if so difficult.

I have no illusions about the difficult task that confronts us now any more than I had and we had in the past.

I have no illusions about the difficulties that we will face.

But even more, I have no illusions about the demands that will be placed on us by what is actually happening on the ground.

So I, I can't say I'm delighted to be reappointed, but certainly I feel in a privileged position to have an opportunity to serve with two such eminent jurists and try to have some influence in improving the situation of people who are suffering so much.

Thank you, everyone, for those opening remarks.

Now we'll open the floor to questions.

We'll just start in the front row.

[Other language spoken]

If you could just identify yourself in the media outlet that you work for.

[Other language spoken]

Swiss news agency.

Thanks for that first press conference.

So, Chris, you mentioned the difficulties ahead.

In less than 20 minutes, President Trump will launch the first ceremony for the new Board of peace.

When you look at its charter, it's much broader than the the first thought of a board of peace for Gaza.

And it seems to be it's a bit in, in, in competition with the UN.

So how do you see that new body?

What, what kind of impact will the work of that new body have on the prospect for accountability in the Palestinian territories and on the difficulties that you might face in the future for the region?

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for that question.

The Board of Peace has been set up pursuant to a plan that was submitted to the Security Council, has been voted upon and accepted as a Commission for enquiry.

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.

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.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much and nice to meet you all.

I have three questions, if I may.

If you could maybe give us some detail on what might be your immediate area of focus in the next few months that would be helpful.

You mentioned there that you were expectant of having engagement with the State of Israel.

In the past, Israel's refused to cooperate with your Commission.

What's changed?

And finally, just in terms of finances, I'm aware that I think back in August, there was concern raised about a certain piece of work not being able to be completed in terms of researching evidence on arms transfers.

And that was going to impact, I think, a report you in March for the Human Rights Council.

If we could have kind of have an update on that And if anything has changed financially, but also more broadly, where does that leave you for this year ahead as you're taking up this role?

What is your financial position?

[Other language spoken]

In our interactions with our team in the last three days, one of those areas we've really identified for taking up as subject matter for reports would be the bodily harm caused both by state actors and non state actors.

And as, as was mentioning earlier, we need to investigate violations of human rights, but 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.

We expect full cooperation.

We have been repeatedly reaching out to the government of Israel.

And with this peace plan in place, it's only a hope that that might change.

We might have some cooperation from those who will be controlling the affairs of that zone of conflict.

And because we are an independent Commission of enquiry, we would expect them to trust us to do our investigation in the most professional way, which we have been doing in the past.

So that is the hope that we have.

We've not been able to visit these conflict zones.

We're expecting that might change if all those who are tasked with implementing this peace plan see the merit in that, and I hope they do.

As far as the two additional mandates we had, one was to look into the supply of arms and the other was settler violence.

Because of shortage of finances, we could not go into those areas.

We have voiced our concerns in our interactions with the UN authorities and they've promised to see how we can carry forth those two agendas despite the resource crunch.

That is a resource crunch that affects the entire UN.

So it's of course, going to affect our work as well.

But given the importance of the work of this Commission, we are expecting and hopeful that we will continue to get support from the UN agencies.

[Other language spoken]

We'll take a question on the far end.

[Other language spoken]

Olivia also already asked most of the questions that I was going to ask.

What did you, chair, reach out personally as a new chairman to the Israeli government and have you had a response?

Do they acknowledge the existence or are you being ignored for the time being?

[Other language spoken]

No, one of the first things we did was to reach out to the Israeli authorities.

I have myself written a letter to them requesting their cooperation.

We write to the Palestinian authorities, with Israeli authorities.

We do that.

And I'm really hoping that with the changes that we are seeing in the ground, we might expect cooperation from them.

It is to the benefit of all the people in the zones of conflict.

It is to the benefit of the Palestinians and the Israelis.

The work of this Commission should be seen in that light.

So I'm really expecting that my personal note to the Israeli government will have a favourable response.

[Other language spoken]

We'll take a question in the 2nd row and we'll come back.

[Other language spoken]

I am Antonio Roto from the Spanish news agent CFA.

Your Commission last year with different members concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

But this conclusion isn't shared by all.

Right now, many world leaders hesitating in in saying the word.

Even UN agencies don't mention genocide.

So I wonder if this worries you and if you plan to insist in the notion of genocide in further investigations?

[Other language spoken]

I think that's a very important question.

I wanted to emphasise 1 aspect of our functioning.

We are an investigating body.

[Other language spoken]

So our work of investigation reaches certain conclusions.

It is definitely open to any further body that might want to use that as evidence to come to its own conclusions.

So we are not, you know, dogmatic that what we have found is to be accepted unquestioningly, but we would really like our work to aid in further taking this to its logical end.

If we had the full cooperation of all authorities, maybe further dimensions could have been examined.

But looking into the rigour which the team follows, I mean they've aligned their evidence gathering, analysis, preservation and even cross checking on authenticity of sources.

They've aligned it with the working of the international tribunals and so it's of a very, very high quality.

Having been engaged with the law for 41 years now, 20 years as a lawyer, 20 years as a judge, I'm pretty amazed at the rigour that they have adopted in coming to their conclusions.

But like I said, these conclusions hopefully will feed into some adjudicatory system to deliver lasting justice to the people in those in these two territories.

And in that process, I think the work of this Commission will be of great assistance.

[Other language spoken]

We'll take a question on the front from AFP.

[Other language spoken]

Will you be looking at violations that have potentially happened in the period of the ceasefire?

And secondly, yesterday there was an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip which killed 3 journalists.

Is that something that that the Commission might be looking into?

[Other language spoken]

I'm so sorry.

[Other language spoken]

The answer has to be in the affirmative to both your questions.

We're looking into all violations of human rights law in these two territories and it would certainly include what you've just mentioned.

But I must also say this, we're also tasked with looking into the root causes of the conflict itself.

And we do thematic presentations.

For instance, right now we're looking into the issues concerning children and like I mentioned earlier, we'll be looking into bodily harm, both cost to the people there both by state and non state actors.

But we will be definitely taking up the violence post the peace plan implementation and even the attacks on journalists and media.

Of course that will be a matter of concern for us.

[Other language spoken]

Do we have any more questions from the room or online?

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, just on with regards to to Anwar and the situation that has happened there.

We've seen what's what's recently happened with their offices in in Jerusalem.

What do you think that will be?

What do you think the impact of that will be on human rights in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories?

I would term it as unfortunate, particularly because it's a relief and works agency set up by the UN itself.

But that apart, I think as a Commission of inquiry we should examine it in greater detail before we come to our conclusions.

I don't think this is going to deter the work of the UN itself in extending relief to the people affected in these two territories, and it is definitely not going to deter this Commission from going ahead with the mandate that it has been tasked so.

That's my response at this point in time.

[Other language spoken]

OK, Do any of the commissioners have any final words?

[Other language spoken]

Unrar provides so many essential services in the occupied Palestinian territories that in fact, for the the better part of 70 something years now, UNRWA has relieved Israel of its obligations to Palestinians.

Let's, let's remember, since 1967, Israel has been the occupying power in the West Bank, including E Jerusalem and Gaza.

And that means it has all of the obligations under the 4th Geneva Convention that an occupying power has.

And many of those obligations have been fulfilled by UNRWA and have been paid for by the United Nations system, donations from other member States and so forth.

Now, if Israel is getting rid of UNRWA, it will have to meet its obligations to provide education, to provide healthcare, hospitals, employment opportunities, social services, income support.

It will cost the Israeli taxpayers billions.

So 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 UNRA has done.

Children have a right to an education.

All people have a right to the highest attainable standard, physical and mental health.

There is a right to to livelihoods through employment and otherwise.

These are fundamental human rights that UNRA itself has been providing for the people of Palestine.

And if UNRA is unable to do it, the obligation falls on the government of Israel and the Israeli taxpayers.

I just wanted to add to the clarity.

I think what they've tried to do is demolish a compound of Undra in Jerusalem.

[Other language spoken]

The destruction of a building of Undra should not be seen as stopping the work of Undra.

I hope Undra doesn't see it as a stoppage of its work.

I think it's work should continue, will continue.

It's part of the UN mandate.

It will have to reach the relief to Palestinian refugees in a way apart from what they do having this building.

So I think Israel should not be, you know, thinking that, you know, because of they've demolished the building of Undra, they can stop the work of Undra.

So I, I really would hope that Undra continues the good work it's been doing, notwithstanding what has happened yesterday or this morning.

I just wanted to add our concerns about the killing of journalists in the conflict areas.

When you're killing a journalist, it means you have something to hide because if you have nothing to hide, you're 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 wake of the journalists and we do hope as a Commission that journalists will not be deterred.

We will continue with your work in the conflict areas so that the world is told and told on time and told correctly what is happening and who bears the blame.

So we hope that the journalists will continue.

[Other language spoken]

I fully 2nd that.

I wanted to go back to a point I made earlier.

They'll be reaching out to the people in these two territories.

I must assure them that whatever information is passed on to us will be protected.

We have very strict witness protection protocols and we have a do no harm principle.

So they should not get deterred that, you know, because they're speaking to this Commission, they may be under any threat.

And we will ensure that we'll do our best to preserve the evidence that we receive.

And I must also ensure assure everyone watching that whatever evidence is collected, it's really thoroughly analysed and cross checked and it's subject to the highest standards.

So we don't come to our conclusions unless we are completely satisfied that this material is reliable and trustworthy and can be used further if it enters the adjudicatory processes.

And it will be of great assistance not just to commissions like the ICJ or ICC but also countries which have responsibilities in exercising universal jurisdiction vis a vis persons who may be accused or alleged to have committed crimes in these territories and who can be brought to justice within their jurisdictions.

So the significance of the work of this Commission cannot be overstated.

And it would it also like, just as Mumba was saying earlier, not only will it have historical relevance, but as just as Chris was mentioning, it actually holds a hope for the future of rule of law and the continuation of the rule of human rights.

Because many people who are suffering in these territories are looking up not only to the UN, but to bodies like us to help them in seeking closure and most importantly, justice.

OK, thank you, everyone.

If there are no remaining questions, that will bring us to the end of this press conference.

Thank you all again for joining us today and have a good day.

[Other language spoken]