Top UN Investigator Warns of Parallels Between Gaza and Rwanda Genocides

By Staff, Agencies

Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief and head of the tribunal on the 1994 Rwanda genocide, has accused Israel of committing genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip, drawing stark parallels to Rwanda’s mass killings three decades ago.

In a report released Tuesday by her Independent International Commission of Inquiry [COI], Pillay declared that “genocide is occurring in Gaza” and stressed that “Israeli” leaders—including President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—have openly incited such crimes.

She added that these leaders could eventually face international arrests and trials, though she acknowledged that accountability is often “a slow process”.

“I consider it not impossible that there will be arrests and trials,” the 83-year-old South African jurist said.

Pillay emphasized that the language used by Israeli leaders mirrors the dehumanizing rhetoric seen during Rwanda’s genocide. In 1994, extremist Hutu militias referred to Tutsis as “cockroaches” before killing an estimated 800,000 people in 100 days. Today, she noted, Palestinians are described by Israeli officials as “animals”, creating a similar climate of permissibility for atrocities.

“All the evidence [indicates] it is Palestinians as a group that is being targeted,” Pillay stated, citing testimonies, footage of mass killings, and reports of sexual violence from Gaza.

She argued that the brutality in Gaza recalls Rwanda’s speed and ferocity, where the world’s failure to intervene deepened the tragedy. “I see similarities,” she said, warning that the dehumanization and group-targeting methods are strikingly alike.

Despite the grim findings, Pillay expressed hope that justice will one day prevail, comparing it to the end of apartheid in South Africa, which once felt impossible. “I never thought apartheid will end in my lifetime,” she reflected.

The COI intends to continue documenting suspected perpetrators and investigating the role of states supporting Israel. Pillay will step down in November due to age and health concerns, but she plans to present the report to the UN General Assembly before leaving.

Since October 7, 2023, the apartheid “Israeli” entity’s military campaign in Gaza has martyred 65,062 people and wounded 165,697, the majority women and children, according to the report.