ISTANBUL
Richard Falk, former UN special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights, closed the final session of the Gaza Tribunal in Istanbul on Sunday by dedicating the people’s tribunal to Palestinians “everywhere in the world” who continue to endure suffering from decades of displacement and occupation.
Falk said the proceedings were “inspired by the Palestinian's heroic struggle of resilience and resistance,” stressing that the tribunal’s efforts honor “not only those that have survived in the land that is Gaza today, but also those Palestinians everywhere in the world and particularly in the refugee camps that have indirectly been suffering all these years.”
He praised the international Jury of Conscience and contributors to the tribunal’s year-long process, describing the final findings as “a very comprehensive and remarkably clear enunciation of what we are attempting to promote and to achieve.” He added that the work of the tribunal “will, I think, be always remembered as a glimmer of light in what has been a dark period in human history.”
Falk also condemned efforts to deny the severity of the crisis in Gaza, saying: “The crime of crimes has been committed and is continuing to induce this extreme situation of mass suffering.” He reminded the audience that “the tragedy of the Palestinian people began not on Oct. 7th but a century and more earlier.”
- 'Watershed moment in world history'
He read the Gaza Tribunal's “Istanbul Statement,” dated Oct. 26, 2025, declaring that the current situation in Gaza constitutes an ongoing genocide. The statement described this moment as “a historic moment of darkness, but in a continuing quest for the light of justice.”
It asserted that “the current genocide in Palestine, rooted in a century of colonization and oppression, represents a watershed moment in the history of our world,” warning that “if the Israeli perpetrators and their western enablers are allowed to escape justice… the world will have ratified one of the worst atrocities in history.”
The people’s tribunal, founded in London in November 2024 and modeled on the Russell Tribunal, previously convened hearings in Sarajevo in May, gathering testimonies from survivors and experts and establishing its principles in the Sarajevo Declaration.
The Istanbul Statement said the tribunal “welcome(s) the findings of the Jury of Conscience, applaud their moral clarity, and commit to the struggle to see their implementation in full.”
It detailed extensive accounts of mass civilian deaths, destruction of infrastructure, deprivation of basic needs, and systematic abuses that it called “the accelerated genocide of the past two years,” pledging: “We will forget none of it.”
The tribunal further cautioned: “We warn the world today that the genocide in Palestine has not ended,” accusing Israel of continuing lethal assaults in Gaza, blocking humanitarian aid, and expanding “the annihilation phase of the genocide to the West Bank.”
It rejected the US President Trump and French President Macron proposals aimed at restructuring governance in Gaza, arguing that these initiatives “presuppose impunity for Israeli genocide and apartheid” and would “impose proxy occupation and colonial control over the victims of genocide.”
The statement concluded with a call for international accountability and intensified civil action.
“We demand accountability for the perpetrators and their complicit enablers… and freedom for Palestine. In sum, we demand justice,” it read, urging boycotts, divestment, sanctions, public protest, criminal prosecutions, and “the amplification of calls for a free Palestine.”
- Gaza Tribunal
A four-day public session held at Istanbul University from Thursday to Sunday marked the culmination of a year-long effort by international jurists, scholars, and civil society representatives to document what they describe as Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.
On Thursday, the proceedings built on earlier hearings in Sarajevo and other global forums, consolidating findings across three thematic chambers: International Law; International Relations and World Order; and History, Ethics, and Philosophy.
On Friday, the tribunal heard expert presentations and witness testimonies on starvation, ecocide, domicide, and the targeting of civilians and public infrastructure, including the destruction of health care and education systems.
Saturday’s sessions centered on complicity, the international system, resistance, and global solidarity efforts.
The final day on Sunday featured a roundtable discussion offering overall reflections and evaluations of the tribunal’s work.
Presided over by Falk, the Gaza People’s Tribunal aimed to produce a comprehensive “people’s record” of what participants assert amounts to genocide, apartheid, and systemic violations of international law in Gaza.