International Petition calling for this- SIGN HERE
IPAN Patrons: Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe AO & Kellie TranterLawyer, Human Rights Activist
IPAN MEDIA RELEASE 22 September 2025
Australian Government must act at United Nations Meeting to support multinational intervention in Gaza
Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a major United Nations report finds
US vetoes UN Security Council Resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza
UNGA “Uniting for Peace” mechanism, bypassing the Security Council, must be activated
Australia is a signatory to the Genocide convention and must adhere to its legal obligations
Gaza, according to the most authoritative assessment to date, provided by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) just recently. Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide in Gaza, according to the most authoritative assessment to date, provided by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) just recently.
The UN independent international commission of inquiry found that ‘genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur’. [i]
The UN Commission of Inquiry (CoI) concluded that ‘Israeli authorities intended to kill as many Palestinians as possible’ and have committed the crime against humanity of extermination.
The UN Inquiry report cites direct targeting of civilians, including children, and mass killings in ‘far larger numbers compared to previous conflicts’.Subsequent to the report’s release, a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza has been vetoed again by the United States – the only dissenting vote of the fifteen members of the security council.
‘It is clear that the Security Council is powerless to promote peace in Gaza and put an end to the genocide being carried out there,’ said IPAN Chair and spokesperson, Ms Annette Brownlie.
‘The failure of this resolution should be the trigger for the United Nations General Assembly ‘Uniting for Peace’ mechanism to be activated as it bypasses a Security Council veto’, said Ms Brownlie.
The UN General Assembly is holding a high-level meeting today, 22 September, to mark the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the UN.
‘With Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to be present at the General Assembly, it is our time as a nation to speak and act in support of peace human rights and obligations under conventions our country has signed’, said Ms Brownlie.
Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and other international laws, states are legally obliged to stop the genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes of the Israeli regime. ‘Palestinian civil society has appealed for intervention’ and the ‘State of Palestine has invited intervention.[ii]
Activating the ‘Uniting For Peace’ mechanism would enable the UNGA to implement multi-national armed intervention in Gaza for self-defence, to open up corridors for humanitarian supplies and establish peace for the people of Gaza.[iii]
‘IPAN calls on the Australian Government to not only recognise the Palestinian state but to support such intervention and offer to supply ADF forces for this’, said Ms Brownlie.
‘The UN General Assembly has previously used this mechanism to establish peace in the Middle East during the Suez crisis of 1956. It is critical that this mechanism be now used to end the genocide in Gaza’, said Ms Brownlie.
ENDS ——————————————————————————- Media Interviews: Annette Brownlie M: 04321 597 256 Media Liaison: Jonathan Pilbrow M: 0403 611 815
Bio: Annette Brownlie is founding member of the Brisbane based community peace organisation, Just Peace Queensland, and the current (and inaugural) chairperson of IPAN. She has served in this position for over a decade.
Authorizing a UN-Mandated Multinational Armed Protective Force (PF) to Gaza. The force shall be armed for self-defence and equipped with advanced monitoring technologies. Its mandate will include:
a. Safeguarding Palestinian civilians from further violence and displacement
b. Supporting the UN’s unrestricted entry and distribution of humanitarian aid, including efforts from civil society to break the siege by sea under the Global Sumoud Flotilla Coalition.
c. Preserving and securing evidence of potential war crimes and human rights violations
d. Facilitating the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure2.Calls on All Member States to:
a. Mandate an immediate, lasting ceasefire, require Israel to withdraw all armed forces from Gaza, and halt all attacks by air, land, and sea
b. Impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel
c. Cease all trade, investment, economic, diplomatic, and cultural relations with the Israeli government
d. Strip Israel of its United Nations credentials
e. Reaffirm the right of the Palestinian people to use all necessary means to resist colonial domination and foreign occupation, including through armed struggle in accordance with international law
