New Delhi (28.11.2025): Former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court S Muralidhar has been appointed as the Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, thus placing an Indian jurist at the helm of one of the UN’s most closely watched human-rights investigations amid the continuing Israel-Palestine conflict.

The appointment was announced by Human Rights Council President Ambassador Jürg Lauber, who confirmed that Justice Muralidhar will lead the three-member body tasked with examining alleged violations of international humanitarian and human-rights law on both sides of the conflict. He will serve alongside Florence Mumba of Zambia and Chris Sidoti of Australia.

The Commission was created in 2021 through Resolution S-30/1, which mandated a continuous inquiry into events unfolding “in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel” from April 13, 2021. The mandate empowers the Commission to examine not only specific incidents but also the “root causes of recurrent tensions”, including systemic discrimination linked to identity, ethnicity, race or religion.