UN firing Nderitu over refusal to apply 'genocide' to Israel, WSJ argues

Nderitu's opposition to term Israel's actions in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas War a genocide, resulted in the UN refusing to renew her contract, the WSJ argued.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF NOVEMBER 26, 2024 08:56 Updated: NOVEMBER 26, 2024 08:58

Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Under-Secretary-General and U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide (photo credit: FLICKR)

"Can anyone with integrity survive at the UN?" The Wall Street Journal's editorial asked on Tuesday, arguing that the UN was refusing to renew the contract of Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu due to her determination that Israel's actions in Gaza could not be defined as "genocide."

The publication cited her 2022 paper on “when to refer to a situation as ‘genocide,’” which affirms the importance that "United Nations officials adhere to the correct usage of the term."

Her paper stated this was necessary due to the term's "frequent misuse in referring to large scale, grave crimes committed against particular populations; the emotive nature of the term and political sensitivity surrounding its use; and the potential legal implications associated with a determination of genocide."

According to Nderitu, the term "genocide" encapsulates the Holocaust, the genocide perpetrated by the Hutus on the Tutsis in Rwanda, the Serbian attacks on Bosnian Muslims, and the killings being carried out in Sudan. 

With regard to Israel, the WSJ editorial noted, "As a legal matter, establishing a pattern of violence as a genocide requires demonstrating intent. Israel’s campaign of self-defense doesn’t qualify."

The publication added that the UN's November 14 report published by the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices claimed the contrary - that there was  “the possibility of genocide in Gaza and an apartheid system in the West Bank.”

People visit the United Nations Headquarters as delegates of the Security Council delayed for one extra day the vote on a proposal to demand that Israel and Hamas allow aid access to the Gaza Strip, December 20, 2023 (credit: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

'A political choice'

According to the WSJ article, the committee was strongly influenced by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who the publication stated "has spent the past year assailing Israel."

While the UN has said that Nderitu's contract is set to expire, the WSJ noted that the organization often chooses to renew such contracts. 

As such, the WSJ added, "Ms. Nderitu’s removal is a political choice," with both Turk and groups hostile to Israel at the UN wishing to see her removed from her role.   

"Beyond Ms. Nderitu’s fate, the damage here includes defining genocide down. The word has become a weapon of political propaganda that will erode its moral authority when it’s needed to describe genuine horrors," the publication stated.