There’s been a shake-up at the United Nations. The organization let go of the special adviser on the prevention of genocide, reportedly because of her views on the Israel-Gaza war.
The Wall Street Journal reported Alice Wairimu Nderitu will not have her contract renewed. This comes after she said Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza isn’t genocide.
In 2022, Nederitu’s office put out guidance on when to refer to a situation as genocide. The office noted U.N. officials should adhere to the correct usage of the term because of the political and legal sensitivities that surround it.
Her instructions cite a Polish lawyer who coined the term in 1944 saying it’s a massacre of an entire ethnic group with the intention of eliminating them.
Nderitu says that includes the Holocaust, the Serbian attacks on Bosnian Muslims and the killings happening in Rwanda and Sudan.
According to that definition, self-defense doesn’t qualify, which, the Wall Street Journal notes, would include Israel’s current actions.
The U.N. defines genocide as a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
In March, a human rights expert presented a report to the U.N. and said there were reasonable grounds to believe what’s happening in Gaza is genocide because of Israeli’s “unrelenting” assault on Hamas.
According to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian health authority, more than 44,000 people have died in Gaza since October 2023.
The U.N.’s decision to dismiss Nderitu is getting a lot of reaction online.
Breaking: The UN have just dismissed the UN’s Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide – Alice Wairimu Nderitu.
— David Collier (@mishtal) November 26, 2024
Why? Because she said there is no genocide in Gaza.
The international courts are in the gutter. If you do not toe the Islamist line – you get fired. pic.twitter.com/BCoW2Hy7Xm
Independent journalist and political science professor David Collier said on X, “The international courts are in the gutter. If you do not toe the Islamist line – you get fired.”
Kudos to the UN for firing this shameful Kenya woman. The killing of 50 thousand Palestinians, including 20 thousand children, isn't genocide? What a disgraceful woman!
— My Name Is Eritrea! 🇪🇷 (@TravelToEritrea) November 26, 2024
The UN has decided to fire its Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide.
Alice Wairimu Nderitu from… pic.twitter.com/K3IHD6Clyv
While a pro-Palestinian activist posted on X, “the killing of 50 thousand Palestinians, including 20 thousand children, isn’t genocide?”
The U.N. said that Nderitu’s contract is set to expire, but the Wall Street Journal notes it often chooses to renew contracts.
Nderitu hasn’t commented.
