Former Judge Dr S Muralidhar Appointed Chair Of UN Inquiry Commission On Occupied Palestinian Territory & Israel

Former Chief Justice of the Odisha High Court and Senior Advocate Dr. S. Muralidhar has been appointed as the Chair of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.

The appointment places Dr. Muralidhar at the helm of the three-member Commission, which was established by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in the region.

He succeeds Brazilian expert Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro.

The Commission's mandate includes examining all alleged violations, identifying those responsible, and making recommendations to ensure accountability and justice for victims.

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. Mr. Sidoti, who earlier served on the Commission, has been reappointed.

The Commission was created in 2021 through Human Rights Council resolution S-30/1, which called for 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 also 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 directed the Commission to present reports on settlers, and on arms sales including those used during the Israeli military operations in Gaza since 7 October 2023. In its report released in September 2025, the Commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.