Pillay Heads International Commission on Israeli Violations

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The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay headed the international Commission of Inquiry (COI) held to examine the human rights violations committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians in occupied Palestine. 

The Commission, which consists besides Pillay of two members, the Indian expert Miloon Kothari and Australian expert Chris Sidoti, was established by the Human Rights Council last May, following the Israeli attacks on the Palestinians and the Israeli aggression on Gaza. The Commission is set to submit its first report to the Human Rights Council on June 2022.

Miloon Kothari held the position of Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing between 2000 and 2008, while Chris Sidotiis is a renowned expert in human rights.

As for Pillay, she held the position of High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2008 and 2014, and she was President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in which she also assumed the position of a judge.

The Commission is tasked with investigating "all underlying root causes of the recurrent tensions, instability, and protraction of conflict, including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity."

It is worth mentioning that this is the first time the Council has ever established an international commission without predetermining its delegation period. The COI is set to submit its first report to the Human Rights Council on June 2022, during the Council's 50th session.

In the meantime, Israeli attacks on Palestinians continue in occupied Jerusalem (al-Quds), where the number of arrests by Israeli forces has increased in the recent months across the occupied territories.

According to local authorities, Israeli attacks on Gaza killed at least 254 Palestinians, including 66 children, between May 10 and 21.