UN Authority Figures

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories: Michael Lynk



In 2009 Lynk said that "the solution to the problem [the Israeli-Palestinian conflict] must go back to 1948, the date of partition and the start of ethnic-cleansing."

Rapporteur's mandate:
"(a) To investigate Israel's violations of the principles and bases of international law, international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967; ...(c) To report...until the end of the Israeli occupation of those territories..." (Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1993/2)

"[T]he following general criteria will be of paramount importance while nominating, selecting and appointing mandate holders: (a) expertise; (b) experience in the field of the mandate; (c) independency; (d) impartiality; (e) personal integrity; (f) objectivity". (Human Rights Council Decision 6/102 Follow-up to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, September 27, 2007)

Term of office: April 1, 2016-March 2022

Michael Lynk already held these views on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian (Arab-Israeli) conflict:
  • "The tragedy that hit the United States on Tuesday was immense...Yet, if we are going to be tough on terrorism, we also have to be tough on the causes of terrorism. Growing global inequalities, disregard by Western nations for the international rule of law, and inequitable regional alliances are serious problems that breed these kinds of acts."
    "UN appointment of Canadian professor creates controversy," PR Newswire, Michael Lynk, September 14, 2001
  • "Settlement implementation projects have been prohibited...Illustrative examples from history include...the transfer by the Nazis of German-speaking peoples into newly conquered lands during the Second World War... Israeli settlements, and those Israeli political, military and settlement movement leaders who have engineered the ongoing settlement project, fall within these domestic prohibitions...[L]itigate the promise of international criminal law: that war crimes and crimes against humanity should know no immunity."
    "The wall and the settlements," UN International Meeting on the Question of Palestine: Implementing the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory - the role of Governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society, March 8, 2005
  • "Israel's actions amount to aggression, not self-defence..."
    "Israel's bombardment of Gaza is not self-defence – it's a war crime," 911Blogger.com, Michael Lynk (Signatory), January 11, 2009
  • "[W]e the undersigned: Defend the right to freedom of speech about Palestine for all members of the university community, including freedom to use the term 'apartheid' to identify and debate certain policies associated with the state of Israel and the freedom to support, facilitate and participate freely in activities under the rubric of 'Israeli apartheid week'..."
    "Defend Freedom of Speech on Palestine," Open Letter, Michael Lynk (Signatory), February 28, 2009
  • "He used to think the critical date in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was 1967, the start of the occupation. Now he thinks the solution to the problem must go back to 1948, the date of partition and the start of ethnic cleansing."
    "Peace, Human Rights and the Rule of Law: Canada's Role in the Middle East," Group of 78 Annual Conference (summarizing Michael Lynk's statements), September 25, 2009
  • "More than anything else the Palestinian leadership could do, seeking membership in the International Criminal Court ... has the potential for dramatically altering the political landscape in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A victory at the International Criminal Court would isolate Israel..."
    "Following UN settlement report, the path forward for Palestinian leadership is clear - take Israel to the International Criminal Court," Mondoweiss, Michael Lynk, February 1, 2013