Top UN investigator sees ‘similarities’ between Gaza and Rwanda genocides
Top UN investigator sees ‘similarities’ between Gaza and Rwanda genocides
M.U.H
19/09/202510
A former United Nations human rights chief and Rwanda genocide tribunal head says Israel is committing genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip, drawing parallels to the genocide that occurred in Rwanda in the 1990s.
In a report issued by her Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Tuesday, Navi Pillay, a former South African judge who led the tribunal on the 1994 Rwanda genocide and served as the UN’s human rights chief, stressed that “genocide is occurring in Gaza” by the occupying entity.
Pillay also stressed that Israeli leaders - including President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - have incited genocide and that they could eventually face arrests and trials, while acknowledged that justice “is a slow process.”
“I consider it not impossible that there will be arrests and trials” in the future, she noted.
The South African former judge further emphasized that striking similarities exist between the appalling butchery that happened in Rwanda some three decades ago and the mass killings occurring in Gaza, particularly the dehumanization of targeted populations.
In 1994, Rwanda experienced a horrific genocide that lasted around 100 days, during which roughly 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed by extremist Hutu militias. The killings were driven by long-standing ethnic tensions and political turmoil, triggered by the assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana.
The speed and brutality of the violence in the African country shocked the world, and the lack of effective international intervention worsened the tragedy.
“I see similarities” to what is happening in Gaza, Pillay said, pointing to “the same kind of methods.”
In Rwanda, Tutsis were labeled “cockroaches,” while she said Israeli leaders have referred to Palestinians as “animals,” creating an environment that makes violence against them appear permissible.
“All the evidence (indicates) it is Palestinians as a group that is being targeted” in Gaza, the 83-year-old South African former judge emphasized.
She also described the evidence from Gaza, including footage of killings and sexual violence, as deeply traumatic, stressing that Palestinians are being targeted as a group in ways reminding us of the methods used during Rwanda’s genocide.
Despite the challenges, Pillay expressed hope that accountability could be achieved, comparing it to the end of apartheid in South Africa, which once seemed impossible.
“I never thought apartheid will end in my lifetime,” she added.
The COI plans to document suspected perpetrators and investigate the role of countries supporting Israel, though Pillay will step down in November due to age and health concerns, but before leaving, she intends to present the report to the UN General Assembly.
Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2023, it has killed 65,062 people and wounded 165,697, most of them women and children.
