4 dec 2009
Goldstone wins Stockholm Human Rights Award
The first annual Stockholm Human Rights Award was given to South African Judge Richard Goldstone, author of a UN report on Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, in Sweden on Thursday.
The award, given jointly by International Bar Association, the International Legal Assistance Consortium and the Swedish Bar Association was awarded to Goldstone in recognition of his "outstanding contributions to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms."
The award follows earlier support of the Goldstone report from the consortium, which published an article demanding the document be “taken seriously and treated as a legal document."
Authored by three prominent members of the awarding associations, Mark Ellis, International Bar Association; Anne Ramberg, Swedish Bar Association; Christian Åhlund, International Legal Assistance Consortium, the article commended Goldstone for his work.
“Despite the aggressive personal attacks against Richard Goldstone, no one has been able to find any factual faults with the Goldstone Report on the analysis of the Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009,” the article said.
“Different opinions about the content of international law and about the report’s conclusions are to be expected. But when a lawyer of such stature presents a report of such thoroughness, on a subject of such fundamental importance, respect for public international law and equality before the law require that the report be taken seriously and treated as a legal document and not as a political pamphlet.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244193
Goldstone wins Stockholm Human Rights Award
The first annual Stockholm Human Rights Award was given to South African Judge Richard Goldstone, author of a UN report on Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, in Sweden on Thursday.
The award, given jointly by International Bar Association, the International Legal Assistance Consortium and the Swedish Bar Association was awarded to Goldstone in recognition of his "outstanding contributions to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms."
The award follows earlier support of the Goldstone report from the consortium, which published an article demanding the document be “taken seriously and treated as a legal document."
Authored by three prominent members of the awarding associations, Mark Ellis, International Bar Association; Anne Ramberg, Swedish Bar Association; Christian Åhlund, International Legal Assistance Consortium, the article commended Goldstone for his work.
“Despite the aggressive personal attacks against Richard Goldstone, no one has been able to find any factual faults with the Goldstone Report on the analysis of the Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009,” the article said.
“Different opinions about the content of international law and about the report’s conclusions are to be expected. But when a lawyer of such stature presents a report of such thoroughness, on a subject of such fundamental importance, respect for public international law and equality before the law require that the report be taken seriously and treated as a legal document and not as a political pamphlet.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244193
12 nov 2009
Peres: Investigate Goldstone, not Israel
Richard Golstone, the celebrated war crimes prosecutor who lead UN inquiries on Rwanda, Yugoslavia and Gaza, is obsessed with Israel and cares little for justice, according to Israeli President Shimon Peres.
"Goldstone is a small man, devoid of any sense of justice, a technocrat with no real understanding of jurisprudence," Peres was quoted as telling Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday.
The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported on Thursday that Peres termed Goldstone's UN-backed fact-finding inquiry on alleged war crimes committed in Gaza was "a one-sided mission to hurt Israel... If anyone should be investigated, it should be him."
A few hours later, Goldstone responded, "I am content to be judged by my actions over the course of my career both in terms of my professional judicial career and my voluntary service," Haaretz reported.
He also said he understood Peres' disappointment with the report, but not the attacks on his character.
"After all, no one likes to be accused of committing serious war crimes," Goldstone said. "However, I was surprised at the many nasty attacks made against me personally. In my view, it was a classic case of attacking the messenger rather than addressing the message."
It was the harshest personal attack on Goldstone by a senior Israeli official since the conclusions of his inquiry were made public in late September. In general, the country's leadership has avoided criticizing the author, a South African Jew and committed Zionist, and focused more on the Human Rights Council, which critics say focuses undue attention on Israel at the expense of more pressing human rights violators.
Speaking to the president of Brazil, which has voted to endorse the mission twice - once at the UN Human Rights Council and again at the General Assembly - Peres said the South American country had made a grave mistake, Haaretz reported.
"[W]hen needed, Israel is a country that can and does investigate and question its actions," Peres reportedly said in response to calls that Israel take seriously the mission's findings. "We have ejected defense ministers and army chiefs following wars."
In recent weeks, Peres has called the Goldstone report "a great victory for terror" and a "mockery of history" for "failing to distinguish between the aggressor and a state exercising its right for self-defense."
Hamas, which was found along with other armed groups to have violated international law by firing on civilian population centers, has similarly criticized the report as failing equating "the resistance and the occupier."
Goldstone served as a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda before he was selected by the UN's rights body to head an inquiry into Israel's assault on Gaza last winter, which left some 1,400 dead in three weeks.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=239257
Peres: Investigate Goldstone, not Israel
Richard Golstone, the celebrated war crimes prosecutor who lead UN inquiries on Rwanda, Yugoslavia and Gaza, is obsessed with Israel and cares little for justice, according to Israeli President Shimon Peres.
"Goldstone is a small man, devoid of any sense of justice, a technocrat with no real understanding of jurisprudence," Peres was quoted as telling Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday.
The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported on Thursday that Peres termed Goldstone's UN-backed fact-finding inquiry on alleged war crimes committed in Gaza was "a one-sided mission to hurt Israel... If anyone should be investigated, it should be him."
A few hours later, Goldstone responded, "I am content to be judged by my actions over the course of my career both in terms of my professional judicial career and my voluntary service," Haaretz reported.
He also said he understood Peres' disappointment with the report, but not the attacks on his character.
"After all, no one likes to be accused of committing serious war crimes," Goldstone said. "However, I was surprised at the many nasty attacks made against me personally. In my view, it was a classic case of attacking the messenger rather than addressing the message."
It was the harshest personal attack on Goldstone by a senior Israeli official since the conclusions of his inquiry were made public in late September. In general, the country's leadership has avoided criticizing the author, a South African Jew and committed Zionist, and focused more on the Human Rights Council, which critics say focuses undue attention on Israel at the expense of more pressing human rights violators.
Speaking to the president of Brazil, which has voted to endorse the mission twice - once at the UN Human Rights Council and again at the General Assembly - Peres said the South American country had made a grave mistake, Haaretz reported.
"[W]hen needed, Israel is a country that can and does investigate and question its actions," Peres reportedly said in response to calls that Israel take seriously the mission's findings. "We have ejected defense ministers and army chiefs following wars."
In recent weeks, Peres has called the Goldstone report "a great victory for terror" and a "mockery of history" for "failing to distinguish between the aggressor and a state exercising its right for self-defense."
Hamas, which was found along with other armed groups to have violated international law by firing on civilian population centers, has similarly criticized the report as failing equating "the resistance and the occupier."
Goldstone served as a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda before he was selected by the UN's rights body to head an inquiry into Israel's assault on Gaza last winter, which left some 1,400 dead in three weeks.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=239257
9 nov 2009
Israel military ethics authors want Gaza probe
The two professors who authored the Israeli military's ethical code in 1992 called on Israel to probe certain aspects of the Goldstone report that alleges war crimes in Gaza, Israeli media reported on Monday.
Professors Moshe Halbertal and Avi Sagi, two authors of the "Spirit of the IDF," a military code of conduct released in 1992 have published articles respectively detailing the need to investigate certain aspects of the Goldstone report on conduct that appears to undermine the Israeli military's ethical code.
In an article published in the US magazine The New Republic, Professor Moshe Halbertal stated that while Judge Richard Goldstone's reported intended "to prepare a general indictment of Israel as a predatory state that is geared toward violating human rights all the time, " the Israeli military must nonetheless investigate the report and present the guidelines which it operated during the three week assault on Gaza, he wrote.
Goldstone’s UN-mandated fact-finding mission accused both Israel and Palestinian paramilitary groups of committing war crimes during Israel’s three-week assault on the Gaza Strip in December and January. More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the war, along with 13 Israelis.
In an online article quoted in the Israeli daily Haaretz, Sagi remarked that the "Spirit of the IDF" placed the highest of moral standards on Israeli soldiers but argued that even though Israel has rejected the Goldstone report, "the question remains over whether in fact IDF troops operated everywhere as required, according to the values to which they are committed."
Sagi further added that, "I'm certain that no one instructed an IDF soldier to harm civilians. In my heart there is a deep suspicion that in some of the military operations, soldiers and commanders did not adopt the highest [ethical] standard, and did not do everything in their power to avoid harming unarmed individuals."
Halbertal stressed that the allegations that require immediate attention from Israel include opening fire on Palestinians white flags, the destruction of homes during the assault's final stages, and the destruction of infrastructure, including power stations and water facilities.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=238493
Israel military ethics authors want Gaza probe
The two professors who authored the Israeli military's ethical code in 1992 called on Israel to probe certain aspects of the Goldstone report that alleges war crimes in Gaza, Israeli media reported on Monday.
Professors Moshe Halbertal and Avi Sagi, two authors of the "Spirit of the IDF," a military code of conduct released in 1992 have published articles respectively detailing the need to investigate certain aspects of the Goldstone report on conduct that appears to undermine the Israeli military's ethical code.
In an article published in the US magazine The New Republic, Professor Moshe Halbertal stated that while Judge Richard Goldstone's reported intended "to prepare a general indictment of Israel as a predatory state that is geared toward violating human rights all the time, " the Israeli military must nonetheless investigate the report and present the guidelines which it operated during the three week assault on Gaza, he wrote.
Goldstone’s UN-mandated fact-finding mission accused both Israel and Palestinian paramilitary groups of committing war crimes during Israel’s three-week assault on the Gaza Strip in December and January. More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the war, along with 13 Israelis.
In an online article quoted in the Israeli daily Haaretz, Sagi remarked that the "Spirit of the IDF" placed the highest of moral standards on Israeli soldiers but argued that even though Israel has rejected the Goldstone report, "the question remains over whether in fact IDF troops operated everywhere as required, according to the values to which they are committed."
Sagi further added that, "I'm certain that no one instructed an IDF soldier to harm civilians. In my heart there is a deep suspicion that in some of the military operations, soldiers and commanders did not adopt the highest [ethical] standard, and did not do everything in their power to avoid harming unarmed individuals."
Halbertal stressed that the allegations that require immediate attention from Israel include opening fire on Palestinians white flags, the destruction of homes during the assault's final stages, and the destruction of infrastructure, including power stations and water facilities.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=238493
8 nov 2009
Goldstone: Lukewarm US response disappointing
Richard Goldstone, the judge who led the UN investigation into Israel’s war on Gaza last winter, expressed his dissatisfaction with the "lukewarm" response his report received in the US.
In a weekly German political newspaper, das Parlament, Goldstone revealed that, "The reactions in the international community were very mixed, but the lukewarm reaction from the United States disappointed me," adding that, "I had hoped that our call to take legal steps and pursue people at a national level would fall on more open ears."
Goldstone’s comments follow the US House of Representatives passing of a resolution on Tuesday reproving Goldstone’s report, requesting that Obama’s administration oppose US support for it.
The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed Goldstone's Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict on Friday, with 114 countries voting in favor of referring the report to the Security Council. The US voted against the motion.
The Goldstone report accused both Israel and Hamas combatants of committing war crimes during Israel’s three-week Operation Cast Led, in which 1,400 Palestinians were killed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=238357
Goldstone: Lukewarm US response disappointing
Richard Goldstone, the judge who led the UN investigation into Israel’s war on Gaza last winter, expressed his dissatisfaction with the "lukewarm" response his report received in the US.
In a weekly German political newspaper, das Parlament, Goldstone revealed that, "The reactions in the international community were very mixed, but the lukewarm reaction from the United States disappointed me," adding that, "I had hoped that our call to take legal steps and pursue people at a national level would fall on more open ears."
Goldstone’s comments follow the US House of Representatives passing of a resolution on Tuesday reproving Goldstone’s report, requesting that Obama’s administration oppose US support for it.
The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed Goldstone's Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict on Friday, with 114 countries voting in favor of referring the report to the Security Council. The US voted against the motion.
The Goldstone report accused both Israel and Hamas combatants of committing war crimes during Israel’s three-week Operation Cast Led, in which 1,400 Palestinians were killed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=238357
7 nov 2009
UN chief to refer Goldstone report to Security Council
The UN Security Council will begin discussions of the Goldstone report "as soon as possible," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday.
"As requested by the General Assembly, I will transmit the report of the Fact Finding Mission to the Security Council," he told reporters in Kabul. "I would strongly urge the parties concerned to engage, without preconditions, to discuss this matter."
His announcement followed Thursday's overwhelming majority decision by members of the General Assembly to pass a resolution calling first for the endorsement of the report's call for independent investigations on alleged Israeli and Palestinian war crimes under the supervision of the secretary-general, and second for the report to be taken up to the Security Council.
General Assembly President Ali Treki urged all sides to conduct credible investigations. "The world is united on human rights," he said. "The vote was a strong declaration against impunity, and in support of justice and accountability."
"While the General Assembly has fulfilled its responsibility and will remain seized over the matter, it is vital that all concerned now devote efforts to implement the resolution and ensure follow up," he added.
Israel is still expected to declare its readiness to conduct investigations, he said, although the country has rejected the resolution. Nonetheless, Treki expressed hope that the Israeli government would respond positively to the resolution and conduct investigations.
He said a request to Israel had been made to conduct credible investigations, in accordance with international standards, to get to the bottom of the charges detailed by the report. Although it has rejected the resolution, Treki expressed hope that the Israeli government would eventually come around and embrace the resolution's terms.
The Palestinian side has been requested to do the same, he noted, within a three-month period. The de facto government in the Gaza Strip vowed, via Egypt, to take the allegations seriously and conduct an impartial investigation.
Taking questions, first on the follow-up he expected from the Security Council, Treki said it was extremely important that an overwhelming majority of states voted in support of the Human Rights Council report and of Goldstone.
He expressed hope that the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention would hold a meeting, with the participation of international experts, that would take into account a report prepared by the Arab League, as well as other facts unearthed by European investigators and independent parties. Importantly, the Swiss government, as depositary of the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Time of War, agreed to the assembly's request to study the Gaza findings, he said, particularly on the use of certain weapons.
"This would be extremely helpful in determining the facts of the situation and serve the search for peace," he said. It was important for peace talks to resume, he said, once measures agreed by the Quartet had been implemented and settlement activities halted.
Asked whether he thought any further action would be taken by the Security Council or the International Criminal Court, he said that the council was the "master of its own decisions." Noting its responsibility to maintain international peace and security, and to protect human rights, he said the council would have a role to play. "I hope it will rise up to that responsibility."
To a question on whether it would have been important for the assembly to have garnered more votes on the resolution, if it had conceded to the European Union's request to change the word "endorse" to the word "welcome" in reference to the Human Rights Council report, he said the text's co-sponsors, which had led the negotiations, could address that.
Voting for the resolution were 114 countries, including China, Russia, and Arab and non-aligned states, as well as some South American and European countries. Eighteen voted against, including Israel, the US, Canada, Italy and Australia, while 44 abstained, including most EU nations, including France and the UK. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237918
UN chief to refer Goldstone report to Security Council
The UN Security Council will begin discussions of the Goldstone report "as soon as possible," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday.
"As requested by the General Assembly, I will transmit the report of the Fact Finding Mission to the Security Council," he told reporters in Kabul. "I would strongly urge the parties concerned to engage, without preconditions, to discuss this matter."
His announcement followed Thursday's overwhelming majority decision by members of the General Assembly to pass a resolution calling first for the endorsement of the report's call for independent investigations on alleged Israeli and Palestinian war crimes under the supervision of the secretary-general, and second for the report to be taken up to the Security Council.
General Assembly President Ali Treki urged all sides to conduct credible investigations. "The world is united on human rights," he said. "The vote was a strong declaration against impunity, and in support of justice and accountability."
"While the General Assembly has fulfilled its responsibility and will remain seized over the matter, it is vital that all concerned now devote efforts to implement the resolution and ensure follow up," he added.
Israel is still expected to declare its readiness to conduct investigations, he said, although the country has rejected the resolution. Nonetheless, Treki expressed hope that the Israeli government would respond positively to the resolution and conduct investigations.
He said a request to Israel had been made to conduct credible investigations, in accordance with international standards, to get to the bottom of the charges detailed by the report. Although it has rejected the resolution, Treki expressed hope that the Israeli government would eventually come around and embrace the resolution's terms.
The Palestinian side has been requested to do the same, he noted, within a three-month period. The de facto government in the Gaza Strip vowed, via Egypt, to take the allegations seriously and conduct an impartial investigation.
Taking questions, first on the follow-up he expected from the Security Council, Treki said it was extremely important that an overwhelming majority of states voted in support of the Human Rights Council report and of Goldstone.
He expressed hope that the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention would hold a meeting, with the participation of international experts, that would take into account a report prepared by the Arab League, as well as other facts unearthed by European investigators and independent parties. Importantly, the Swiss government, as depositary of the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Time of War, agreed to the assembly's request to study the Gaza findings, he said, particularly on the use of certain weapons.
"This would be extremely helpful in determining the facts of the situation and serve the search for peace," he said. It was important for peace talks to resume, he said, once measures agreed by the Quartet had been implemented and settlement activities halted.
Asked whether he thought any further action would be taken by the Security Council or the International Criminal Court, he said that the council was the "master of its own decisions." Noting its responsibility to maintain international peace and security, and to protect human rights, he said the council would have a role to play. "I hope it will rise up to that responsibility."
To a question on whether it would have been important for the assembly to have garnered more votes on the resolution, if it had conceded to the European Union's request to change the word "endorse" to the word "welcome" in reference to the Human Rights Council report, he said the text's co-sponsors, which had led the negotiations, could address that.
Voting for the resolution were 114 countries, including China, Russia, and Arab and non-aligned states, as well as some South American and European countries. Eighteen voted against, including Israel, the US, Canada, Italy and Australia, while 44 abstained, including most EU nations, including France and the UK. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237918
6 nov 2009
UN General Assembly backs Goldstone report
The UN General Assembly in New York overwhelmingly endorsed South African jurist Richard Goldstone's Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict on Friday.
A resolution supporting the report passed the UN's largest body with 114 votes in favor versus 18 opposed. Forty-four states abstained.
The report accuses both Israel and Palestinian combatants of committing war crimes during the Israeli army's three-week assault on Gaza, which left some 1,400 Palestinians dead. Thirteen Israelis also died.
The unaltered resolution passed with wide support from Muslim states and the Nonaligned Group. There had been concerns the Arab Group, backed by the PLO's envoy, would tone down the report's content in an effort to make it more amenable to European Union support.
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour applauded the vote, saying the implementation of Goldstone's report would begin in stages. "In three months we will come back to General Assembly to consider the report of the Secretary-General for further action, including in all parts of the United Nations, including in the Security Council," he said, according to Voice of America.
But critics say the Arab states' resolution, while expressing support for the report, does little to implement the document's recommendations for investigation and prosecution. The issue centers on the fact that the Security Council, dominated by veto-wielding US, UK, Russia, France, and China, is not likely to act on the report.
"Ideally, the General Assembly should retain authority to recommend the report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or establish an ad hoc tribunal," said Richard Falk, a professor of international law at Princeton University, earlier this week. "There’s nothing in the charter precluding the General Assembly."
He told Ma'an there would be "a quiet celebration in Washington and Tel Aviv and disappointment for those holding Israel accountable."
But Mansour, in a separate interview with Ma'an, said the resolution would not spell the end of possibilities for prosecution.
"There is a new environment forming," he said. "We entered a new era of fighting impunity" with the ICC's establishment. "I am sure that Israel will think 1,000 times before trying a similar operation in Gaza ... and our brothers in Hamas will think again before firing rockets on civilian populations."
The United States was the only permanent Security Council member to vote against the non-binding resolution. US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice did not attend the discussion, sending instead her deputy, Alejandro Wolff, as an observer.
Israel's UN ambassador, Gabriela Shalev, told Hebrew-language media on Wednesday the vote was "conceived in hate and executed in sin," and said politics, rather than protecting human rights, was the only reason the report was even being discussed in New York.
The US House of Representatives condemned the report as biased on Tuesday. A nonbinding resolution passed by an overwhelming margin of 344 to 36. Twenty-two lawmakers voted "present," in effect abstaining from the vote.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who visited Israel in August on a trip sponsored by a pro-Israel lobby group, said the report "paints a distorted picture," and "epitomizes the practice of singling Israel out from all other nations for condemnation."
The Fact Finding Mission was tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating Israel's three-week attack. Goldstone and an international team of experts visited Gaza in June and poured over thousands of documents in compiling the 575-page report.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237736
UN General Assembly backs Goldstone report
The UN General Assembly in New York overwhelmingly endorsed South African jurist Richard Goldstone's Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict on Friday.
A resolution supporting the report passed the UN's largest body with 114 votes in favor versus 18 opposed. Forty-four states abstained.
The report accuses both Israel and Palestinian combatants of committing war crimes during the Israeli army's three-week assault on Gaza, which left some 1,400 Palestinians dead. Thirteen Israelis also died.
The unaltered resolution passed with wide support from Muslim states and the Nonaligned Group. There had been concerns the Arab Group, backed by the PLO's envoy, would tone down the report's content in an effort to make it more amenable to European Union support.
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour applauded the vote, saying the implementation of Goldstone's report would begin in stages. "In three months we will come back to General Assembly to consider the report of the Secretary-General for further action, including in all parts of the United Nations, including in the Security Council," he said, according to Voice of America.
But critics say the Arab states' resolution, while expressing support for the report, does little to implement the document's recommendations for investigation and prosecution. The issue centers on the fact that the Security Council, dominated by veto-wielding US, UK, Russia, France, and China, is not likely to act on the report.
"Ideally, the General Assembly should retain authority to recommend the report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or establish an ad hoc tribunal," said Richard Falk, a professor of international law at Princeton University, earlier this week. "There’s nothing in the charter precluding the General Assembly."
He told Ma'an there would be "a quiet celebration in Washington and Tel Aviv and disappointment for those holding Israel accountable."
But Mansour, in a separate interview with Ma'an, said the resolution would not spell the end of possibilities for prosecution.
"There is a new environment forming," he said. "We entered a new era of fighting impunity" with the ICC's establishment. "I am sure that Israel will think 1,000 times before trying a similar operation in Gaza ... and our brothers in Hamas will think again before firing rockets on civilian populations."
The United States was the only permanent Security Council member to vote against the non-binding resolution. US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice did not attend the discussion, sending instead her deputy, Alejandro Wolff, as an observer.
Israel's UN ambassador, Gabriela Shalev, told Hebrew-language media on Wednesday the vote was "conceived in hate and executed in sin," and said politics, rather than protecting human rights, was the only reason the report was even being discussed in New York.
The US House of Representatives condemned the report as biased on Tuesday. A nonbinding resolution passed by an overwhelming margin of 344 to 36. Twenty-two lawmakers voted "present," in effect abstaining from the vote.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who visited Israel in August on a trip sponsored by a pro-Israel lobby group, said the report "paints a distorted picture," and "epitomizes the practice of singling Israel out from all other nations for condemnation."
The Fact Finding Mission was tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating Israel's three-week attack. Goldstone and an international team of experts visited Gaza in June and poured over thousands of documents in compiling the 575-page report.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237736
5 nov 2009
US envoy snubs UN Goldstone debate
The US envoy to the United Nations did not attend a General Assembly debate on Wednesday on a resolution calling for further investigation into allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice failed to attend the discussion, sending her deputy, Alejandro Wolff, as an observer instead.
The debate concerns the 575-page report of an international, independent fact-finding mission led by renowned South African judge Richard Goldstone, which addresses Israel’s three-week assault on Gaza last winter, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead.
The General Assembly is considering a nonbinding resolution that would ask UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send the report to the Security Council, and also demand that Israel and Palestinian authorities conduct their own credible investigations into the war crimes charges.
The Arab-backed resolution is likely to pass the 192-nation General Assembly, but the Security Council, dominated by western powers, is unlikely to take further action on the matter.
Israel’s closest ally, the US, is almost assured to veto any Security Council resolution acting on the Goldstone report.
At Wednesday’s debate, Arab envoys spoke in favor of the resolution, while Israel’s ambassador, Gabriela Shalev, condemned the Goldstone report as "conceived in hate and executed in sin."
Reports also state that while most members of the 27-nation European Union were expected to abstain from voting, negotiations were underway to amend the text to make it more palatable to Europe.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237485
US envoy snubs UN Goldstone debate
The US envoy to the United Nations did not attend a General Assembly debate on Wednesday on a resolution calling for further investigation into allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice failed to attend the discussion, sending her deputy, Alejandro Wolff, as an observer instead.
The debate concerns the 575-page report of an international, independent fact-finding mission led by renowned South African judge Richard Goldstone, which addresses Israel’s three-week assault on Gaza last winter, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead.
The General Assembly is considering a nonbinding resolution that would ask UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send the report to the Security Council, and also demand that Israel and Palestinian authorities conduct their own credible investigations into the war crimes charges.
The Arab-backed resolution is likely to pass the 192-nation General Assembly, but the Security Council, dominated by western powers, is unlikely to take further action on the matter.
Israel’s closest ally, the US, is almost assured to veto any Security Council resolution acting on the Goldstone report.
At Wednesday’s debate, Arab envoys spoke in favor of the resolution, while Israel’s ambassador, Gabriela Shalev, condemned the Goldstone report as "conceived in hate and executed in sin."
Reports also state that while most members of the 27-nation European Union were expected to abstain from voting, negotiations were underway to amend the text to make it more palatable to Europe.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237485
4 nov 2009
US House condemns Goldstone report
The US House of Representatives condemned as biased a UN-mandated report alleging war crimes in the Gaza Strip in a resolution on Tuesday.
The nonbinding resolution passed by an overwhelming margin of 344 to 36. Twenty-two lawmakers voted “present,” in effect abstaining from the vote.
The action came in spite of a letter of protest from the report’s author, Richard Goldstone, a preeminent South African jurist and former war crimes prosecutor for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The letter addressed inaccuracies in the resolution's text, and called on its supporters to make sure the text was correct before it was voted on.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who visited Israel in August on a trip sponsored by a pro-Israel lobby group, said the Goldstone report "paints a distorted picture," and "epitomizes the practice of singling Israel out from all other nations for condemnation,” according to Reuters.
Goldstone’s Fact Finding mission was tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating Israel’s three-week attack on Gaza last winter, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead. Goldstone and an international team of experts visited Gaza in June and poured over thousands of documents in compiling the 575-page report.
In a letter he wrote to congress, Goldstone protested that the resolution condemning his report was factually incorrect in claiming that the document did not address projectile attacks emanating from Gaza, whereas a chapter of the report addresses the issue.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237191
UNGA begins debate on Goldstone report
Delegates to the UN General Assembly began discussing the draft proposal that seeks to push forward investigations into war crimes alleged by the UN-mandated Goldstone report on Wednesday.
The draft resolution, submitted by several Arab states, asks that the report be handed up to the UN Security Council for discussion and also be placed under the supervision of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, who would oversee the progress on independent investigations into allegations by both Israel and the Gaza government.
Egypt's ambassador Maged Abed Al-Aziz, in his address to the assembly, said all parties "must seriously and collectively confront the realities highlighted in the Goldstone report and act accordingly and responsibly in accordance with all obligations under the [Human Rights] Charter and international law, including international humanitarian and human rights laws," Al-Jazeera reported.
Israel, as expected, condemned the resolution and the report outright. The country's representative to the UN Gabriela Shalev, called the resolution "yet another campaign against the victims of terrorism, the people of Israel."
"The Goldstone report and this debate do not promote peace. They damage any effort to revitalize negotiations in our region. They deny Israel's right of self-defense," she told the assembly.
The debate comes one day after the US House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution condemning the Goldstone report as biased and illegal. The resolution was passed even though the report's author, South African Justice Richard Goldstone, wrote an open letter to its sponsoring representatives, saying the text of the resolution was replete with errors. Goldstone identified 15 mistakes or inaccuracies in the resolution's text, which he hinted indicated that the members had not in fact read the report they were about to condemn.
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The US House of Representatives condemned as biased a UN-mandated report alleging war crimes in the Gaza Strip in a resolution on Tuesday.
The nonbinding resolution passed by an overwhelming margin of 344 to 36. Twenty-two lawmakers voted “present,” in effect abstaining from the vote.
The action came in spite of a letter of protest from the report’s author, Richard Goldstone, a preeminent South African jurist and former war crimes prosecutor for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. The letter addressed inaccuracies in the resolution's text, and called on its supporters to make sure the text was correct before it was voted on.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who visited Israel in August on a trip sponsored by a pro-Israel lobby group, said the Goldstone report "paints a distorted picture," and "epitomizes the practice of singling Israel out from all other nations for condemnation,” according to Reuters.
Goldstone’s Fact Finding mission was tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating Israel’s three-week attack on Gaza last winter, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead. Goldstone and an international team of experts visited Gaza in June and poured over thousands of documents in compiling the 575-page report.
In a letter he wrote to congress, Goldstone protested that the resolution condemning his report was factually incorrect in claiming that the document did not address projectile attacks emanating from Gaza, whereas a chapter of the report addresses the issue.
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UNGA begins debate on Goldstone report
Delegates to the UN General Assembly began discussing the draft proposal that seeks to push forward investigations into war crimes alleged by the UN-mandated Goldstone report on Wednesday.
The draft resolution, submitted by several Arab states, asks that the report be handed up to the UN Security Council for discussion and also be placed under the supervision of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, who would oversee the progress on independent investigations into allegations by both Israel and the Gaza government.
Egypt's ambassador Maged Abed Al-Aziz, in his address to the assembly, said all parties "must seriously and collectively confront the realities highlighted in the Goldstone report and act accordingly and responsibly in accordance with all obligations under the [Human Rights] Charter and international law, including international humanitarian and human rights laws," Al-Jazeera reported.
Israel, as expected, condemned the resolution and the report outright. The country's representative to the UN Gabriela Shalev, called the resolution "yet another campaign against the victims of terrorism, the people of Israel."
"The Goldstone report and this debate do not promote peace. They damage any effort to revitalize negotiations in our region. They deny Israel's right of self-defense," she told the assembly.
The debate comes one day after the US House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution condemning the Goldstone report as biased and illegal. The resolution was passed even though the report's author, South African Justice Richard Goldstone, wrote an open letter to its sponsoring representatives, saying the text of the resolution was replete with errors. Goldstone identified 15 mistakes or inaccuracies in the resolution's text, which he hinted indicated that the members had not in fact read the report they were about to condemn.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=237439
