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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · 21d

Today is the one year deadline given by the UN General Assembly for withdrawal of Israel from all illegal settlements after last year’s historic ICJ ruling which found settlements illegal. What should happen now? I discuss in an opinion piece.

www.aa.com.tr/en/opinion/o...

OPINION - UN General Assembly's deadline on Palestine: What comes next?

Without confronting Israel’s outlaw behavior, states are faced with the prospect of the breakdown of law and order in the international system, and the obsolescence of the UN itself - Anadolu Ajansı

www.aa.com.tr

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · 22d

This belated finding by the independent commission, must lead to immediate action by individual states and collectively through the UN, to stop Israel’s genocide, to urgently assist the people of Gaza and to ensure accountability. Will it happen?

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds

GENEVA – Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, a...

www.ohchr.org

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Aug 21

Detailed interview on the catastrophe in Gaza and West Bank and the urgent responsibilities of every State and of the international community, on Al Jazeera Mubasher.

youtu.be/CRVKKx1u30U?...

مقرر أممي: على الدول فرض عقوبات وقطع العلاقات مع إسرائيل

YouTube video by Al Jazeera Mubasher قناة الجزيرة مباشر

youtu.be

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Aug 5

Interview in Arabic on Al Jazeera about the press release issued by me and fellow UN experts on the urgent need to dismantle the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and restore real aid flows to the famine-stricken people of Gaza.

mediaview.aljazeera.com/video/z9uXa6...

mediaview.aljazeera.com

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Jul 26

I condemn this executive order by the US President to criminalize homelessness in the US in violation of both US law and international law. I have condemned this approach already in a UN report last year and call on States in the US not to cooperate.

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose and

www.whitehouse.gov

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Reposted by Balakrishnan Rajagopal

UN-SPexperts @un-spexperts.bsky.social · Jul 25

#Guatemala: UN expert @balaraj.bsky.social calls for urgent moratorium on evictions until adequate legal protections can be guaranteed, urging an end to the widespread practice of violent & inhumane forced evictions.
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Jul 25

I welcome #France’s decision to recognize the State of Palestine. This is highly overdue and I urge all holdout states in the West to follow suit. That is the surest way to peace in the Middle East.

www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Infuriating Netanyahu, France's Macron says to recognise Palestinian state

France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, adding that he hoped it would help bring peace to the region, but drawing an immediate rebuke from Israel.

www.reuters.com

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Jul 13

Interview on Al Jazeera Mubasher on the catastrophic situation in Gaza

youtube.com/watch?v=0OON...

جريمة التجويع والقتل في غزة.. هل يبرر القانون الدولي ذلك؟

YouTube video by Al Jazeera Mubasher قناة الجزيرة مباشر

youtube.com

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Jul 11

Very much looking forward to my country visit to Guatemala!

UN-SPexperts @un-spexperts.bsky.social · Jul 11

UN Special Rapporteur @balaraj.bsky.social will conduct an official visit to #Guatemala 🇬🇹 from 14 to 25 July 2025.

www.ohchr.org/en/media-adv...

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Jun 25

#ZohranMamdani’s stunning victory yesterday in the NYC democratic primary rested primarily on one issue: the affordability crisis. Indeed as we see in so many cities like Berlin, affordability of housing and other rights is the main issue. See my report: docs.un.org/A/78/192

Select a language for A/78/192

docs.un.org

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Jun 23

#India is leading the world in illegal home demolitions, especially affecting minorities and vulnerable groups. This is a national scandal - a gross violation of domestic and international law and must stop. My press release about the latest demolitions in #Gujarat.

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

India must halt arbitrary demolitions targeting minorities and marginalised communities: UN experts

GENEVA – India must immediately put an end to its practice of arbitrary and punitive demolitions affecting low-income households, minorities and migrants, independent human rights experts* warned toda...

www.ohchr.org

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Jun 13

Israel’s attack on Iran is a grave violation of international law including attacks on nuclear scientists at their homes. Israel is a serial violator of jus cogens norms and there must be meaningful sanctions and containment measures against it.

www.ejiltalk.org/is-israels-u...

Is Israel’s Use of Force Against Iran Justified by Self-Defence?

This morning, Israel launched a major military operation against Iran targeting its nuclear programme, including facilities, individual scientists and military leadership. In this post, I will provide...

www.ejiltalk.org

Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Jun 10

More than 400,000 Palestinians in Gaza might be dead according to this analysis that relies on data from the Israeli IDF. Not surprising in the light of the Lancet report months ago that estimated the dead at 200,000. A monstrous genocide!

threadreaderapp.com/thread/19310...

Thread by @PixieOfDeath on Thread Reader App

@PixieOfDeath: The Israeli army estimates there are 1.85 million people in Gaza. Subtracting the 100,000 estimated to have left for Egypt before Israel occupied Rafah crossing, it puts the death toll ...

threadreaderapp.com

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · May 31

The Sarajevo Declaration of the Gaza Peoples’ Tribunal is out. The Tribunal is a milestone in the struggle towards justice for the Palestinians and for all of humanity.

gazatribunal.com/the-sarajevo...

The Sarajevo Declaration of the Gaza Tribunal - Gaza Tribunal

We, the members of the Gaza Tribunal, having gathered in Sarajevo from 26 to 29 May 2025, declare our collective moral outrage at the continuing genocide in

gazatribunal.com

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · May 26

Deaths from Israel’s attacks on Gaza close to 62,000 as more than 14,000 people buried under the rubble are added. Every one of these lives deserves accountability and justice.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/...

Deaths from Israel’s attacks on Gaza close to 62,000 as missing added

Local authorities add 14,000 people, missing and presumed dead, to the list.

www.aljazeera.com

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · May 25

When States fail humanity, it is civil society that stands up, now for Palestinianians in Gaza through a People’s Tribunal, as it has for other victims of colonial wars of annexation and extermination. Guided by the indomitable Prof. Richard Falk.

richardfalk.org/2025/05/25/g...

GAZA TRIBUNAL: Program for Sarajevo Public Sesssion, May 26-29, 2025

[Prefatory Note: The Gaza Tribunal will hold its first public session, starting Monday, 10:00 AM GMT; it presents extensive reports on various dimensions of the Gaza Ordeal endured for more than 19…

richardfalk.org

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · May 22

The Special Rapporteur on the right to food @MichaelFakhri writes in the @guardian: The GA must act to authorize peacekeepers to ensure aid delivery to Gaza. I have called on the GA before to act under the Uniting for Peace res. and fully endorse this.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If aid doesn’t enter Gaza now, 14,000 babies may die. UN peacekeepers must step in | Michael Fakhri

As a UN special rapporteur on the right to food, I have watched for 19 months as Israel starves children. The world must act now

www.theguardian.com

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · May 20

I cordially invite CSO representatives to a consultation for my next report to the UNGA on:
Land and the right to adequate housing
Thursday 29 May 2025, 3 PM CET (Geneva)
More info and registration ohchr.org/sites/default/…

Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · May 17

New report in the @972mag on systematic destruction of homes in Gaza as the main strategy to commit genocide and annexation by making it uninhabitable for Palestinians. Western media - @FT @TheEconomist @guardian @Independent and @nytimes @washingtonpost @BBCWorld - wake up!

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · May 15

nterview on Al Jazeera Arabic about the Israeli evacuation order of al-Shifa hospital and attack on homes. And the unacceptability of Arab States’s arms purchases from the US while Palestinians are being eradicated with US weapons.

mediaview.aljazeera.com/video/ZPGEMP...

mediaview.aljazeera.com

Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Apr 29

Home demolitions for suspects or even convicts are illegal as Indian Supreme Court has ruled. Terrorism suspects must be prosecuted and punished according to the law, not subject to collective punishment in act of rogue justice. India must stop this.

thewire.in/law/jammu-ka...

Despite SC Ruling, J&K Authorities Demolish Homes of Pahalgam Suspects, Others, Without Notice

The families of at least two of the suspects said they had been displaced as a result of the action.

thewire.in

Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Apr 28

My letter to the Government of Italy on Italian government’s troublesome and willful disregard of its binding international legal obligations is now public below. Forced evictions in violation of interim measures by the CESCR is illegal.

spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/…

Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Apr 17

I am honored to give this talk on academic freedom at the University of Chicago at this critical moment in the US and in so many other countries.

humanrights.uchicago.edu/events/acade...

Academic Freedom on the Brink: Reflections from a Human Rights Perspective

humanrights.uchicago.edu

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Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Apr 16

I applaud you Senator as a constituent and as UN Special Rapporteur.

Balakrishnan Rajagopal @balaraj.bsky.social · Apr 13

Glad to speak at the side event, “Rebuilding Gaza for Gazans” at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg. Urged urgent intervention before the genocide in Gaza results in total extermination or expulsion.

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