UN shifts discourse on war crime definition of 'forced displacement'

By Serife Cetin

Following Israel's ground assault on Rafah, the UN began using the term "displacement" instead of "forced displacement" for those fleeing.

It is a change in terminology that could be deemed a war crime.

"Yesterday’s evacuation orders from the Israeli military have already resulted in the forced displacement of tens of thousands of people from Rafah, in southern Gaza," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said May 7.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric used the same terminology in a daily news conference but later noted that people had been "forced to leave to reach safety," indicating the complexity of the situation.

- Change in terminology

UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, during a news conference Thursday, reported that "80,000 people have been displaced in Rafah."

Haq suggested that the number may have reached 100,000 within hours, emphasizing the high tension in the region and the ongoing attacks.

Responding to Anadolu's question about when "forced displacement" is considered a war crime, Haq said war crimes could be defined by relevant legal institutions, and he could not make such a determination.

Haq noted that the UN defines forced displacement as "people being involuntarily displaced and forced to move."

When asked if, according to the UN, forced displacement implies war crimes, Haq responded that courts would make that determination.

On the question if the UN would characterize what is happening in Rafah as forced displacement, Haq replied: "You can see this displacement and you can see how what's happening today meets that definition."

*Writing by Merve Aydogan in Canada