The UNHRC Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing has been reported for breaching multiple regulations on impartiality.
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to the Office of Internal Oversight Services at the UN about Mr Balakrishnan Rajagopal regarding his social media posts.
As an independent UN expert and Special Rapporteur, he is supposed to act with impartiality, integrity, truthfulness and honesty at all times. However, Mr Rajagopal has displayed conduct entirely unbefitting of his role.
From at least January 2024 to date, he has posted offensive messages on social media, screenshots of which have been presented as part of the complaint.
- On 18 April 2024, he said it is “time to unseat Israel from the UN”.
- On 23 March 2024 he claimed that Israel is committing “not just war crimes, but acts of mass torture and brutality” against Palestinians in Gaza, and falsely alleging that “no heavy machinery or fuel is available due to Israeli blockade”.
- On 12 February 2024 he called Rafah “the latest ‘killing fields’ of Israel. Far worse than [the genocide in] Srebrenica”.
- On 1 February 2024 he called for Israel’s assets to be “frozen and used for the reconstruction of Gaza”.
- On 22 January 2024 he claimed that “western media” is “biased against Palestinian deaths and suffering” for “not reporting the unfolding genocide in Gaza”.
- On 11 January 2024 he labelled South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ a “moment of hope”.
A spokesperson for UKLFI commented: “Mr Rajagopal’s public endorsement of inflammatory and extreme statements and actions significantly reduces trust in the UN and undermines its position as an impartial broker. We hope the UN will investigate this behaviour.”