A landmark UN report on Gaza genocide: Professor Triestino Mariniello explains
Navi Pillay
Romana Rubeo introduces an interview with Triestino Mariniello in The Palestine Chronicle on 16 September 2025:
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released a landmark report on Tuesday [16 September]. For the first time, a UN body concluded that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
To understand the significance of this finding, we spoke with Professor Triestino Mariniello, international law expert and member of the legal team representing Gaza victims before the International Criminal Court.
Why is this UN Report Historic?
“The report is of historic importance, because it is unprecedented,” Professor Triestino Mariniello told the Palestine Chronicle. “It is the first time that a United Nations commission of inquiry has reached such a conclusion.” He noted that in the past, UN commissions had accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. “But they had never gone so far as to say that Israel is also responsible for what represents the most serious crime at the international level: the crime of genocide.”
What Makes the Commission Credible?
According to Mariniello, the authority of the commission and its members gives the report particular weight. “First of all, from the authority of the commission itself and its commissioners. For example, Navi Pillay, internationally known, was also a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.”
On What Evidence are the Findings Based?
“The report is based on direct evidence,” Mariniello explained. “It essentially confirms what has already been said by a long list of international organizations, especially Palestinian ones.”
He stressed that the conclusions align with those of these organizations: “The report says that the objective of the Israeli authorities in Gaza is not, as claimed, to destroy Hamas or to bring hostages home, but—as the report states—to kill as many Palestinians as possible and to make Gaza unlivable for the survivors.”