Alice Nderitu sought to make forgotten conflicts in the world a topic of discussion and action, but everyone wanted her to focus on what she wouldn’t call a genocide in Gaza.
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When histories of the war in the Gaza Strip are written—a war triggered by the Hamas pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023—the name of Alice Nderitu probably won’t garner more than a footnote at best. That’s an enormous shame because Nderitu’s courage in confronting the institutionalized obsession of the United Nations with the Palestinians takes us to the heart of the great issues wrapped up in this conflict—its purpose, the manner in which it has been fought and the manner in which it has been presented to the outside world.
ThestoryofNderitu’sordealastheU.N.’sSpecialAdvisorforthePreventionofGenocidewasthesubjectofanengagingpiecebyJohannaBerkmanpublishedlastweekbytheonlinemagazineAirMail.NderitutookovertheunpaidpositionduringtheCOVID-19pandemicin2020.ShelastedfornearlyfouryearsinthepostbeforeU.N.Secretary-GeneralAntónioGuterresdecidedagainstrenewinghercommissionlastNovemberfollowingasustainedandoftenabu
