Richard Falk: “Failure to act now would mark a historic failure of humanity”

Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Gaza Tribunal President and former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights Richard Falk called on the international community to take immediate and decisive action to stop what he described as “the most lethal phase of genocide” in Gaza.

“If we do not act with seriousness and urgency now, it will be too late to save those still surviving after 22 months of trauma and destruction,” Falk warned.

The Tribunal, composed of international jurists and human rights advocates, urged world governments to bypass the UN Security Council and empower the UN General Assembly to authorize an armed protective intervention in Gaza.

“Silence in the face of genocide is complicity”

In its emergency statement titled “Time to ACT: Mobilizing Against Israel’s Planned Conquest of Gaza City and Central Gaza,”
the Gaza Tribunal condemned Israel’s August 7 National Security Cabinet decision to escalate its military campaign, describing it as a plan “opposed even by Israel’s own military command.”

“This looming escalation demands urgent and decisive action from all UN member states,” Falk said, citing existing legal frameworks such as the 1950 Uniting for Peace Resolution and the 2005 Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine.

Echoing Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour’s appeal for immediate protection forces, the Tribunal declared:

“We, as the Gaza Tribunal, stand with those who recognize that silence in the face of genocide is complicity.”

“Israel is silencing truth-tellers in Gaza”

Falk denounced what he called Israel’s systematic efforts to suppress truth, citing the August 10 assassination of journalist Assas al-Shafir and his Al Jazeera colleagues, describing it as “a deliberate act to silence those exposing reality.”

He also criticized sanctions imposed on UN human rights rapporteurs, calling such actions “a war against truth itself.”

“An essential mission of the Gaza Tribunal,” Falk said, “is to strengthen the role of truth and factual understanding. This is vital not only for Gaza but for the well-being of the global community.”

A tribunal born of conscience

Founded in London in 2024, the Gaza Tribunal unites over a hundred academics, lawyers, and civil society leaders who describe their work as a “Jury of Conscience.”

The Tribunal has convened sessions in London, Sarajevo, and Istanbul — each aimed at documenting violations, compiling evidence, and mobilizing public opinion.
Its Sarajevo Declaration, released in May 2025, formally accused Israel of genocide, war crimes, and apartheid.

The final hearing will take place in Istanbul in October 2025, where the Jury of Conscience will deliver its moral verdict based on collected evidence and testimonies.

“Our goal is not only to document crimes but to revive the moral responsibility that international law seems to have lost,” Falk said.

“Western complicity is shameful — but the public is waking up”

Falk sharply criticized Western democracies for what he called “a shameful complicity in genocide.”
However, he noted that public opinion across the Global North was beginning to shift.

“People are regaining their moral voice.
We’re seeing movements grow — demanding arms embargoes, sanctions, and global solidarity — much like the anti-apartheid campaign once did.”

He stressed that the fight for Gaza is not only about Palestine, but about the moral integrity of humanity itself.

“The UN General Assembly must act — the world cannot claim ignorance anymore”

The Gaza Tribunal plans to present its resolution at the UN General Assembly in New York next month, calling for immediate authorization of an international protection force in Gaza.

“The UN’s founding purpose was to prevent atrocities,” Falk reminded. “If it cannot protect the defenseless in Gaza, then it fails its own reason for existence.”

As Falk concluded, his words echoed through the hall in Istanbul:

“We are witnessing genocide in real time. The eyes of the world are open — no one can say they didn’t know.
The only question that remains is whether humanity still has the courage to act.”