Genocide in Gaza
In response to escalating abuses in Gaza and across the Occupied Palestinian Territory before and since October 7, 2023, the University Network for Human Rights has led documentation and legal analysis of the crimes of genocide and apartheid; submitted briefs to the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice advocating for protection and accountability for Palestinians; and engaged third States on their responsibilities to not be complicit in atrocity crimes.
In May 2024, in partnership with students and experts at Boston University, Cornell, University of Pretoria, and Yale, the University Network published Genocide in Gaza: Analysis of International Law and its Application to Israel’s Military Actions since October 7, 2023. The report is the most thorough legal analysis to date of the “crime of crimes” expressed in the 1948 Genocide Convention and the related international jurisprudence, as applied to the facts on the ground in Gaza since October 7. It concludes that Israel’s actions meet the legal threshold of genocide, producing legal obligations for Israel and the international community to end the slaughter.
The report was submitted to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
In August 2024, UNHR also submitted an amicus brief to the International Criminal Court regarding its issuance of arrest warrants for crimes in Palestine, including Gaza.
The University Network also contributed two briefs in federal litigation in California over the U.S. government’s support of Israel’s actions. Among them was an amicus filed jointly with the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, the only trade union representing Palestinian journalists across the occupied Palestinian territory, including the approximately 1,200 journalists who were based in Gaza before October 7.
Project Publications
More from UNHR on the Genocide in Gaza
Open Letters Signed by UNHR (Chronological)
Open Letter to Congress and the Incoming Presidential Administration Regarding US Sanctions on the ICC (6 January 2025)
Open call for a ceasefire in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel and end to impunity amid a spiralling humanitarian catastrophe and escalating regional conflict (24 October 2024)
Open Letter of support to the Honorable President of the Republic, Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and to the Honorable Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mauro Vieira: Support for Brazil's Backing of South Africa's ICJ Petition (17 January 2024)
"We Support South Africa's Genocide Convention Case Against Israel": We join over 1,000 popular movements, unions, and other organizations call on states around the world to support South Africa's genocide case against Israel. (8 January 2024)
Joint Letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Opposing 155mm Artillery Shell Transfer to Israel (13 November 2023)
Hundreds of Legal Community Members Demand Action To Stop Racist Targeting of Palestine Advocates and Safeguard Fundamental Rights (19 October 2023)
Open Call by for an Immediate Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Israel to Prevent a Humanitarian Catastrophe and Further Loss of Innocent Lives (18 October 2023)
Human Rights and other Civil Society Groups Urge United Nations to Respect Human Rights in the Fight Against Antisemitism: Joint Letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Under Secretary-General Miguel Ángel Moratinos (4 April 2023)
Open Letter to Secretary Blinken Re: U.S. State Department withdrawal of leading human rights expert’s candidacy to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (22 February 2023)
Joint Statement: Over 150 Organizations Demand International Community Stand Against Raids and Closures of 7 Palestinian Organizations (22 August 2022)
290 Organizations Call on Joe Biden to Stop Israeli Government’s Attacks on Palestinian Civil Society (22 August 2022)
Letter to Prosecutor Bensouda Re: Situation in Palestine: Sheikh Jarrah – Communication from Legal Scholars & Advocates (23 May 2021)
