Skip to main content
Friday, November 6, 2026Nov 6

This story is free to read.

Gaza probe ‘operational’ without Clooney’s fiancee

FILE - The June 12, 2014 file photo shows Amal Alamuddin, human rights lawyer and fiancee of US actor George Clooney, as she attends the 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' summit in London. Alamuddin has been chosen for the U.N.'s three-member commission of inquiry looking into possible violations of the rules of war in Gaza, United Nations Human Rights Council said Monday, Aug. 11, 2014.  (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, file)
FILE - The June 12, 2014 file photo shows Amal Alamuddin, human rights lawyer and fiancee of US actor George Clooney, as she attends the 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' summit in London. Alamuddin has been chosen for the U.N.'s three-member commission of inquiry looking into possible violations of the rules of war in Gaza, United Nations Human Rights Council said Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, file) FILE - The June 12, 2014 file photo shows Amal Alamuddin, human rights lawyer and fiancee of US actor George Clooney, as she attends the 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' summit in London. Alamuddin has been chosen for the U.N.'s three-member commission of inquiry looking into possible violations of the rules of war in Gaza, United Nations Human Rights Council said Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, file)

GENEVA (AP) – The president of the U.N. top human rights body says the commission on possible violations of the rules of war in Gaza is “operational” despite the decision by George Clooney’s fiancee to pull out of the panel.

British-Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin, who is engaged to marry the 53-year-old actor, decided she couldn’t accept the role a few hours after she was appointed as one of three commissioners, said Gabon Ambassador Baudelaire Ndong Ella, who presides over the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Alamuddin, an expert on human rights, was among a number of people that Ndong Ella approached as potential candidates, he said Tuesday, adding he will later decide “on how best to support and strengthen” the commission.

Alamuddin said Monday she “unfortunately could not accept this role.”