The Gaza Tribunal, a people’s tribunal established as an independent initiative with humanitarian and moral objectives to investigate Israel's ongoing war crimes in Gaza, will hold its first public session on Monday in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Led by Richard Falk, former UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, the Gaza Tribunal is set to convene its sessions in Sarajevo from May 26 to 29.
Discussions will cover a range of issues, including settler-colonial genocide, genocide frameworks, apartheid, forced population transfer, the protection of civilians, shortcomings of the UN system, and the criminalisation of protests.
As part of the program, panels will be held on Political Realism and Contemporary Geopolitics and Political Economy of Genocide, along with a special session titled From Srebrenica to Gaza.
On the final day, the Sarajevo Declaration, prepared with contributions from all participants, will be presented to the public.
The tribunal is being organised with the support of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum, which brings together 66 member bodies, including 50 national youth organisations and 16 minority Muslim youth organisations.
Gaza Tribunal draws inspiration from landmark efforts in history, such as the Russell Tribunal of the 1960s, which examined the US invasion of Vietnam.
Final proceedings to be held in Istanbul
The Gaza Tribunal was formally launched in London in November 2024 by a coalition of academics, intellectuals, human rights advocates, and representatives from civil society organisations in response to what they describe as “the total failure of the organised international community to implement international law” in Gaza.
Following the assembly in Sarajevo, the tribunal plans to hold its final hearing session in October 2025 in Istanbul, Türkiye. During this event, a Jury of Conscience will present a draft of the tribunal’s findings and decisions, drawing on testimonies from witnesses and statements from Palestinians affected by the crisis.
All Sarajevo sessions will be broadcast live online.
Gaza Tribunal
The tribunal aims to operate transparently, independently of global power structures, and without restrictions, while completing its work within an accessible timeline.
While not a substitute for international legal bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC) or the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Gaza Tribunal functions as a complementary forum, providing credible legal findings and helping to raise global awareness on the issue.
