From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
UN inquiry on alleged Israeli violence hampered by funding shortfall, document shows
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A team of UN investigators tasked with researching cases of violence by Israeli West Bank settlers and the transfer of arms to Israel for use in the Gaza war cannot complete their work because of financial constraints, a recent document shows.
The incident shows how dire funding shortages in the UN system, caused by donor fatigue and belt-tightening, are harming global accountability efforts for alleged abuses after a Congo probe was stalled earlier this year.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory – established in May 2021 by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council – can provide evidence of alleged international crimes used in pre-trial investigations by tribunals like the International Criminal Court.
Israel regularly criticizes the commission, which has condemned actions by the IDF since the onset of the war in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023.
Last year, the council approved a request from Pakistan to research additional evidence on arms transfers to Israel in the context of the Gaza war and Israeli settler violence.
But Navi Pillay, who heads the inquiry, has told the council’s president in an August 6 letter that a lack of funds meant it was unable to hire staff.
“The Commission has started informing the sponsors of the two resolutions that it will be unable to produce these mandated reports and present them to the Council in March 2026,” writes Pillay, who has served as a judge at the ICC and is a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
A backlog of UN mandatory fees, including from the top donor, the United States, which owes around $1.5 billion, has worsened a long-running UN liquidity crisis. In response, the global body plans to cut its budget by 20 percent.
Overall, 12 of the current 47 voting members on the council – set to meet in September to discuss crises in Sudan and Afghanistan – have outstanding fees, according to a tally by the International Service for Human Rights.
The Times of Israel Community.