U.N. Impartiality Challenged Amid Gaza Conflict

The United Nations' impartiality came under scrutiny as the United States and Israel issued complaint letters contesting the neutrality of U.N. staff amid the ongoing Gaza war. Hundreds of U.N. staff members organized a protest in Geneva, laying over 370 white roses to honor aid workers killed in the nearly two-year conflict.

Nathalie Meynet, president of the U.N. refugee agency staff council, stated the protest aimed to highlight the unjust deaths of their colleagues in Gaza, as tensions between the U.N. and its top funder, the U.S., continue to rise. The U.S. previously disengaged from the U.N. Human Rights Council over alleged anti-Israel bias.

Israel's U.N. Ambassador, Daniel Meron, criticized the protest, asserting that U.N. staff should remain non-political. Despite Meron's stance, U.N. staff organizer Séverine Deboos clarified that the protest aimed to honor fallen colleagues, not push a political agenda, stressing that neutrality remains a core U.N. principle.

(With inputs from agencies.)