(C) Common Dreams This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Petition · Petition for UN Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu to Resign · Change.org [1] [] Date: 2024-02 On the 75th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention, we call for the immediate resignation of Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. The urgency of this request is underscored by her failure to fulfill her mandate throughout the crisis in occupied Gaza Strip, Palestine. As of today, December 9, 2023, the number of Palestinians civilians killed in the Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7 has reached 17,500, including 7,700 children and 5,100 women. More than 46,500 were wounded and nearly 1.8 million civilians were forcibly internally displaced. Among those killed in Gaza are over 133 UNRWA staff, most of them with their families. According to aid groups Save the Children and Oxfam the civilian population is deliberately being denied access to basic humanitarian aid of food, water, and fuel. Even the internationally-funded humanitarian aid response – Gaza’s last lifeline - has been choked by Israeli-imposed restrictions, Save the Children said in a report issued on 9 Dec. Impeding relief supplies is using starvation as a method of warfare, which inevitably has a deadly impact on civilians and children, and considered a serious violation of international law. The Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Israeli officials have repeatedly announced their intentions of destroying “the people in Gaza” and “wiping it from the map” and starving its population by the prevention of the entry of all lifesaving supplies, especially food, water, and fuel. Alice Wairimu Nderitu’s mandate is to raise awareness about potential causes of genocide, sound the alarm in the face of a risk, and advocate for relevant preventative action. In an October 15, 2023 press release, Nderitu condemned Hamas attacks targeting civilians and urged the release of Israeli hostages. However, she failed to acknowledge Israel's overwhelming violence against Palestinian civilians, and has made no further press releases since. The gravity of her failures demands immediate action. The undersigned express profound concern over the UN's ineffectiveness in preventing genocide in Gaza under Nderitu's leadership. Genocide is not just a crime against individuals; it is a crime against humanity itself. We hereby demand an immediate and transparent review and investigation of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide on her failure to fulfill her mandate and to widely publish the outcome of this investigation. Only through decisive action and change in leadership can the UN restore credibility and fulfill its mandate. With the official in charge of genocide prevention taking no action despite public pressure, statements by UN Special Rapporteurs, and thousands of civilians killed, including UN staff and their families, we demand Nderitu's immediate resignation and for her to be held accountable for her failure to act in response to mass atrocities in Gaza. The world is watching, and history will remember the actions taken, or not taken, by the United Nations in response to a genocide unfolding in Gaza. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.change.org/p/petition-for-un-special-adviser-on-prevention-of-genocide-alice-wairimu-nderitu-to-resign Published and (C) by Common Dreams Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/