NGO demands UN Israel-Palestinian investigator to resign

A pro-Israel rights group filed a complaint Monday against the head of a United Nations investigation into systematic abuses in Israel and Palestinian territories for prejudice, demanding that she resign.

Navi Pillay, a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, was appointed in July 2021 to head a high-level probe into "all underlying root causes" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

UN Watch, a Geneva-based advocacy group that monitors UN activities, said the South African jurist displayed "demonstrable bias against Israel, including on issues specifically related to the case and controversy that is the object of this inquiry."

"Many of the utterances in question occurred mere weeks before she was appointed by the UN... leaving little room to imagine how Pillay could envisage the issues any differently so soon afterward," according to UN Watch chief Hillel Neuer.

The group, which routinely attacks UN mandate-holders for anti-Israel bias, called for Pillay to recuse herself from the so-called Commission of Inquiry (COI) - created during a session held last May to discuss the 11-day Hamas-Israel war that month.

It was tasked with investigating all violations of human rights in Israel and Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem.

If Pillay refused, UN Watch called for the president of the UN Human Rights Council, who ordered the creation of the COI, "to take action to remove Pillay."

Following an inquiry about the complaint, Ambassador Federico Villegas - who is currently serving as council president - stressed the care that goes into selecting members of investigative bodies.

"The president of the Human Rights Council places the utmost importance on examining the independence and impartiality of each member in order to ensure the objectivity of the body," he told AFP.