Jerusalem – Tomorrow, during a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to establish yet another permanent mechanism to single out Israel, NGO Monitor will address the Council and highlight the antisemitism behind the initiative.

NGO Monitor notes that, in keeping with standard practice of UN anti-Israel bias, invited speakers – including the notorious Special Rapporteur for the Palestinians and BDS supporter, Michael Lynk, as well as a representative from the PFLP-linked NGO Al Mezan – will present an entirely one-sided anti-Israel agenda.

The draft resolution for the session repeats the antisemitic 2001 Durban agenda, including “apartheid” demonization and calling again for BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) against Israel. It also establishes a prejudicial Commission of Inquiry (COI) “to investigate, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel, all alleged violations of international humanitarian law and all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law leading up to and since 13 April 2021.”

The COI will never expire and, if approved, will report annually to both the HRC and the General Assembly, adding to the incitement and fueling the conflict.

Like previous COIs on Israel, NGO Monitor anticipates a secretive process led by members with long histories of anti-Israel activism.

NGO Monitor’s Legal Advisor and UN Representative, Anne Herzberg said: “The mandate of the proposed Commission is designed to bolster inflammatory claims of apartheid and investigations by the International Criminal Court. Much like the UNHRC, it is antisemitic and aimed at attacking Jewish self-determination and the existence of a Jewish homeland. Rather than curb the pogroms that targeted Jews across the globe during the past month, the actions of the Council amplify and encourage this violence.

This COI would represent the third never-expiring UN initiative tasked with producing annual anti-Israel reports – joining the Council’s agenda Item 7, the only agenda item dedicated to a single country, and the inflammatory work of the Division of Palestinian Rights – the only UN division dedicated to a single people. It appears that the UN’s obsession with Israel has gotten even worse, if that is possible.”

Herzberg will be delivering a speech to the session highlighting the fundamental flaws of the Commission’s mandate.