UN Experts Urge All Parties To Accept Gaza Ceasefire, Deliver On Justice, Aid & Palestinian Self-Determination

GENEVA (17 January 2025) – UN experts* today urged all parties to accept the Gaza ceasefire deal, deliver justice and humanitarian aid, and ensure Palestinian self-determination, expressing hope that a sustainable truce will end immense suffering and loss of life in the besieged and devastated Gaza strip, across the occupied Palestinian territory and in Israel.

"This ceasefire agreement follows 15 months of immense and terrible suffering in Gaza. We are dismayed that shortly after the deal was announced, Israel continued bombing Gaza indiscriminately, killing Palestinian civilians despite expectations of calm until the ceasefire takes effect,” the experts said.

“It is time for all people and illegally detained captives to return home to their loved ones – both the Israeli captives in Gaza and thousands of Palestinians who have been arbitrarily detained and often tortured in Israeli prisons. Nearly 2 million people displaced within Gaza should also be allowed to return home, and be supported to rebuild their lives without fear of further displacement or persecution,” they said.

“We can only hope that this agreement will end the devastating loss of life, stop the genocidal assault and violence that has tormented millions in the occupied Palestinian territory and brought apocalyptic destruction in the Gaza Strip.”

The experts warned that the challenges ahead were monumental, with more than 70 per cent of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure destroyed mainly by the relentless bombing.

“The immediate priority in Gaza is ensuring unfettered humanitarian relief, early recovery and – crucially – reparations to the affected people commensurate with the damage wreaked by Israel since 7 October 2023. The immediate need is for shelter during winter with many children already dead from hypothermia, and food, water and medical and other essential supplies,” the expert said.

“It is essential that Gaza be brought under one legitimate Palestinian Government based on the rights to self-determination of the Palestinian people and full respect of international law. No foreign-imposed control of the strip will be compatible with these rights,” they said.

“The violence, destruction and inhumane suffering that the world has witnessed for over a year is testament to collective political failure and decades of forcibly displacing Palestinian people from their homeland,” the experts said.

“We must continue to uphold international law, especially for survivors that have been affected by the devastation,” they said.

“This must be the opportunity to start resolving the Question of Palestine in line with international law. The occupation that began in 1967 must end and the international community must ensure the independence and full sovereignty of the State of Palestine in line with the 1967 borders,” the experts said. “This will be the first concrete building block for a path to freedom and security for both Palestinians and Israelis.”

They noted that sustainable peace required addressing the conflict's root causes and driving fundamental change in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.

“The 17-year siege on Gaza must end, and Israel must fully and unconditionally withdraw its presence from the land internationally recognised as the State of Palestine. Peace depends on ending racial segregation and apartheid, as ordered by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, and ensuring equal rights for all Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinians displaced since 1948, survivors of the Nakba, must be able to return to their historic lands, rebuild their lives and end the cycle of forced exile,” the experts said.

They also called for all journalists, including the international media, to be granted full, free and safe access to Gaza.

The experts urged Israel, the State of Palestine and other States to investigate and prosecute international crimes under national laws or universal jurisdiction to end impunity in the region.

They called on Israel to cease obstructing investigations by the International Criminal Court, the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and allow UN Special Procedures to conduct country visits.

“Justice for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity is owed to the millions directly affected by the brutal violence of the past year,” they said.

“Only the long overdue end to the occupation, apartheid and ensuring justice for atrocities committed will end cycles of violence in the region and underpin a durable peace.”

*The experts: Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment; Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; Olivier De Schutter; Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; Ashwini K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism; Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing; George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Heba Hagrass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities; Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Genevieve Savigny, Chair of the Working group on peasants and other rural workers; Mama Fatima Singhateh, Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children; Elisa Morgera, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change; Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic republic of Iran; and Bina D’ Costa, Chair; Barbara G. Reynolds, Catherine S. Namakula and Isabelle Mamadou (Members); Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.

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