Overview

• Commissioners Navi Pillay, Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti have tendered resignations effective late October and early November, vacating the panel’s leadership.
• Pillay cited her age, medical issues and other commitments for stepping down; Sidoti said it was time to reconstitute the commission; Kothari offered no public explanation.
• The resignations followed U.S. sanctions last week on special rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her investigations into Israeli actions.
• The commission was established in 2021 at the request of the Palestinian delegation and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to collect evidence on alleged rights abuses but has no enforcement power.
• The U.N. Human Rights Council has set an August 31 deadline for member states to nominate new commissioners so the inquiry can resume operations.