UN Staff Urge Turk to Label Gaza Conflict Genocide as Turkish Parliament Debates

Over 500 United Nations staff members have urged OHCHR head Volker Turk to formally designate the ongoing Gaza conflict as a genocide, citing the scale and severity of human rights violations and warning that failure to do so undermines the UN's credibility. This internal appeal draws parallels to the 1994 Rwandan genocide and calls for stronger international condemnation. Israel rejects the genocide label, maintaining its actions as self-defense against Hamas. In response to the crisis, the Turkish Parliament, led by Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, has called an extraordinary session to discuss Israel's military actions in Gaza, the humanitarian blockade, and alleged genocide. Turkish opposition parties and government officials, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, are actively involved in addressing the conflict, with Turkey condemning Israel's actions, halting trade, and seeking to join a genocide case at the World Court. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned Israel's attacks on Gaza during a recent speech, emphasizing accountability for what he described as ongoing massacres and humanitarian suffering.