The United Nations has appointed former Orissa High Court Chief Justice and now Senior Advocate S. Muralidhar as the Chair of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, placing an Indian jurist at the helm of one of the UN’s most closely watched human-rights investigations amid the now cease-fired genocidal war on Gaza.
The appointment was announced by Human Rights Council President Ambassador Jürg Lauber.
Justice Muralidhar succeeds Brazilian expert Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro.
Florence Mumba of Zambia and Chris Sidoti of Australia are the other members of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
Justice Muralidhar will serve as Chair of the three-member body, while Sidoti, who earlier served on the Commission, has been reappointed.
The Commission’s mandate includes examining all alleged violations, identifying those responsible, and making recommendations to ensure accountability and justice for victims.
Created in 2021 through Human Rights Council resolution S-30/1, the Commission was tasked with the urgent establishment of an ongoing, independent international inquiry to investigate all alleged violations of international humanitarian law and abuses of international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Israel since 13 April 2021. The resolution further directed the Commission to examine the underlying root causes of recurrent tensions, instability, and the protracted nature of the conflict, including patterns of systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial, or religious identity. The Commission reports annually to both the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly.
In 2024, the Human Rights Council expanded its requests and asked the Commission to present reports on settlers and on arms sales, including those used during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since 7 October 2023. In the report released in September 2025, the Commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
A highly respected jurist, Muralidhar practised in the Supreme Court of India for nearly two decades, served as counsel to the National Human Rights Commission, and appeared as Amicus Curiae in several public-interest cases. He was appointed Judge of the Delhi High Court in 2006 and went on to become Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court in 2021, where his tenure saw significant institutional reforms including digitisation of court records and the creation of the Judicial Archives and Museum of Justice.
After retiring in 2023, Muralidhar, who is a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government, returned to legal practice and was designated Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court.
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