A wave of dissent has erupted inside the United Nations, as more than 500 employees of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) pressed High Commissioner Volker Türk to openly recognize Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide.

The appeal was delivered in a letter by the OHCHR Staff Committee, reflecting the voices of hundreds of UN staff in Geneva who say the legal threshold for genocide has already been met. Citing evidence from UN fact-finding mechanisms, independent experts, and the mounting civilian death toll, the staff demanded that the UN stop “shying away” from naming Israel’s atrocities for what they are.

In their letter, staff condemned the ongoing bloodshed, particularly the disproportionate impact on women and children, and warned that the UN risks repeating its historical failure during the Rwandan genocide, when hesitation and bureaucratic caution cost countless lives.

“Failing to call this genocide by its name weakens the UN’s human rights mandate and makes us complicit in the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the letter read, according to sources.

High Commissioner Türk acknowledged the concerns but stopped short of endorsing the genocide designation. OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani admitted that the war has “shaken staff profoundly” and that documenting abuses has become increasingly difficult under Israel’s ongoing blockade and bombardment.

However, rights advocates argue that Israel’s systematic starvation policies, destruction of infrastructure, and mass displacement campaigns amount to a clear project of extermination and ethnic cleansing.

Pressure on the UN is mounting, as world leaders — including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan — have openly described Israel’s campaign in Gaza as genocide.

Meanwhile, in December 2023, South Africa filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide, a case that remains under deliberation. The proceedings, however, have not halted Israel’s escalating military campaign, which has already killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced millions.

For Palestinians and global justice advocates, the UN’s reluctance to apply the genocide label reflects not neutrality but complicity with Western powers shielding Israel from accountability. Critics warn that if the UN cannot call genocide by its name in Gaza, its entire human rights framework risks collapse.

As one OHCHR staff member reportedly put it: “The world is watching, and history will judge whether the UN stood with the oppressed or with their oppressors.” (ILKHA)