(September 5, 2025)

GENEVA – UN experts* today issued an urgent appeal for an emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly, warning that the international community must act immediately before the 17 September-deadline for demanding an end to Israel‘s occupation of Palestine, as genocide and a man-made famine unfold in Gaza.

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The experts called on the General Assembly to convene an emergency meeting to:

– Call on Member states to act under “uniting for peace” in line with General Assembly resolution 377 V and recommend a peace operation.
– Demand the opening of all the crossings to unrestricted humanitarian access under direct UN oversight.
– Demand the immediate suspension of failed or dangerous mechanisms, including those that have led to widespread killings at aid distribution points.
– Call on Member States with ports in the Mediterranean Sea to urgently deploy emergency navies carrying humanitarian aid.
– Request the authorisation of UN-led international humanitarian convoys with full UN authority to coordinate and supervise all crossings into Gaza.
– Demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire and the release of arbitrarily detained Palestinians and Israelis alike.

“The situation in Gaza is intolerable and unconscionable,” the experts said.

“The General Assembly must uphold the duty of the United Nations to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians, end the violence, and guarantee that life-saving assistance reaches the people of Gaza without obstruction or delay. Anything less makes the international community complicit in these grave violations.”

The experts:

– Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories, occupied since 1967
– Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association;
– Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
– Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food
– Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues
– Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons
– Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
– Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children
– Heba Hagrass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
– Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
– George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
– Claudia Flores (Chair), Ivana Krstić (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working group on discrimination against women and girls
– Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito (Chair-Rapporteur), Ravindran Daniel, Michelle Small, Joana de Deus Pereira, Andrés Macías Tolosa, Working Group on the use of mercenaries
– Ashwini K.P. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
– Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
– Bina D‘Costa (Chair), Barbara G. Reynolds, Isabelle Mamadou, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent
– Carlos Duarte (Chair), Shalmali Guttal, Davit Hakobyan (vice-chair), Uche Ofodile (vice chair), Genevieve Savigny, Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas
– Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
– Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
– Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
– Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing;
– Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
– Elisa Morgera, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change
– Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education;
– Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Baldé, Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez, and Mohammed Al-Obaidi, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
– Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
– Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development