[southnews] UN endorses Goldstone report
Dave Muller
which says Israel committed war crimes during last winters military
assault on the Gaza Strip.
The Goldstone report, which accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes,
has already been endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council, which
sponsored the fact-finding commission.
The General Assembly on Thursday voted by a margin of 114 to 18 to adopt
the report after debating it for two days.
Voting on Goldstone Report at UN.
6 Nov 09
Sonja Karkar.
Source: http://australiansforpalestine.com/
Australia votes a shameful no against the Goldstone Report with
Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Marshall
Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Netherlands, Palau,
Panama, Poland, Slovakia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Ukraine, United States. See how others voted below.
Voting on Goldstone Report.
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda,
Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados,
Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana,
Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad,
Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Peoples Republic
of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia,
Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India,
Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lao
Peoples Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia,
Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco,
Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman,
Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra
Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri
Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand,
Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates,
United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen,
Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel,
Italy, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru,
Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Poland, Slovakia, The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, United States.
Abstain: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia,
Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, Latvia,
Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, New
Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Republic of
Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, San Marino, Spain,
Swaziland, Sweden, Tonga, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uruguay.
Absent: Bhutan, Cape Verde, Ctte dIvoire, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras,
Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sao
Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Togo, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
U.N. Affirms Israeli-Hamas War Crimes Report
By Thalif Deen
November 06, 2009 -- UNITED NATIONS, Nov 5 (IPS) - A 575-page blistering
report by Justice Richard Goldstone detailing war crimes in Gaza last
December is refusing to die despite an aggressive Israeli smear campaign
to kill it.
The report, which was favourably voted by the 47-member Human Rights
Council in Geneva last month, received overwhelming support Thursday in
the 192-member General Assembly.
The vote was 114 in favour and 18 against, with 44 abstentions.
The 18 countries that voted against the resolution included the United
States, Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Israel.
Ambassador Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United
Nations, singled out Ireland, one of the few Western nations to vote for
the resolution, for "supporting" it.
He also noted that a "sizeable number of European nations" abstained on
the resolution.
Among the abstentions were Britain, France, Norway, Sweden, Spain,
Luxembourg, New Zealand, Denmark and Greece.
"The General Assembly sent a powerful message," he told reporters,
adding that if Israelis do not comply, "We will go after them."
The Assembly requested Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report within
three months on the implementation of the resolution.
Among other things, the resolution calls upon both the Israelis and the
Palestinians to undertake independent investigations of their own on the
serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws
during the 22-day conflict in Gaza in December.
Still, Mansour said he rejects any equation of the "occupying power's
aggression and crimes with actions committed in response by the
Palestinian side".
"We wish to clearly reaffirm that there is absolutely no symmetry or
proportionality between the occupier and the occupied," he added.
U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff rejected the Goldstone report as "deeply
flawed" and "unbalanced".
He said the United States was fully committed to a two-state solution -
Israel and Palestine - and will do nothing to hinder it.
Last month, the 15-member Security Council debated the report but
refused to take a vote primarily because of the opposition by the United
States, a veto-wielding member of the Council.
In Geneva, the Human Rights Council endorsed the report last month by a
vote of 25 in favour, six against, 11 abstentions and five no-shows.
The report was also the subject of a vote Tuesday by the U.S. House of
Representatives, traditionally sympathetic towards Israel. That vote,
condemning the report, was 344 in favour and 36 against.
Nadia Hijab, senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for
Palestine Studies, told IPS the importance of the Goldstone Report is
evident given the amount of effort Israel, the United States and their
allies are investing in trying to bury it.
She said irrespective of the strength or weakness of the General
Assembly resolution, the report is important because of its very existence.
Not only does it provide an authoritative basis for Palestinians seeking
reparations and accountability, but it also puts the world on notice
that international law must be upheld and impunity must end, she said.
"It's simply not going to go away," said Hijab.
The report, authored by a four-member international fact-finding mission
headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, details war crimes charges against
both Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The mission, and specifically Goldstone, has been politically crucified
by pro-Israeli groups in the United States.
The U.N. mission recommended that the Security Council require Israel to
report to it, within the next six months, on investigations and
prosecutions it should carry out with regard to the violations cited in
the report.
During the ruthless military operation, codenamed 'Operation Cast Lead,'
the Israelis destroyed houses, factories, wells, schools, hospitals,
police stations and other public buildings.
The number of Palestinian killed during the conflict is estimated at
between 1,387 and 1,417, mostly civilians, compared with four Israeli
fatal casualties in southern Israel and nine soldiers killed during
fighting, four of whom died as a result of friendly fire.
The report also recommended that the Security Council set up its own
body of independent experts to report to it on the progress of the
Israeli investigations and prosecutions.
"If the expert's reports do not indicate within six months that good
faith, independent proceedings are taking place, the Security Council
should refer the situation in Gaza to the Prosecutor in the
International Criminal Court (ICC)," the report recommended.
Hijab told IPS the Goldstone Report has already had an impact on the
Israeli-Palestinian scene.
"It will ensure that henceforth the Israeli state as well as Palestinian
armed groups are more careful about the use of force," she said.
In addition, she said, the initial misguided attempt by the leaders of
the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian
Authority (PA) to "postpone" consideration has strengthened the hand of
political parties and civil society in setting limits on how far the
PA/PLO can go in their alliance with the U.S. and its erosion of
Palestinian human rights.
In short, the Goldstone Report has had a significant before it even
reached the General Assembly, and it continues to be discussed the world
over, Hijab declared.
_______________________________________
Goldstone and Gaza
By Jimmy Carter
November 06, 2009 "New York Times" -- Published: November 5, 2009 --
Judge Richard Goldstone and the United Nations fact-finding mission on
the Gaza conflict have issued a report about Gaza that is strongly
critical of both Israel and Hamas for their violations of human rights.
On Wednesday, a special meeting of the U.N. General Assembly began a
debate on whether to refer the report to the Security Council.
In January 2009 rudimentary rockets had been launched from Gaza toward
nearby Jewish communities, and Israel had wreaked havoc with bombs,
missiles, and ground invading forces. Judge Goldstones claim is that
they are both guilty of crimes against humanity. Predictably, both the
accused parties have denounced the report as biased and inaccurate.
It is good to remember that Judge Goldstone, from South Africa, is one
of the worlds most widely respected jurists, with an impeccable record
of wisdom, honesty and integrity. He is a devout Jew and has long been
known as a fervent defender of Israels right to peace and security.
In April 2008 I personally visited Sderot and Ashkelon, Israeli
communities near enough to have been hit by rockets fired from within
Gaza. While there, I condemned these indiscriminate attacks on civilians
as acts of terrorism, and I consider their condemnation by Judge
Goldstone to be justified.
A year later, after the Israeli attack on Gaza, I was able to examine
the damage done to the small and heavily populated area, surrounded by
an impenetrable wall, with its gates tightly controlled. Knowing of the
ability of Israeli forces, often using U.S. weapons, to strike targets
with pinpoint accuracy, it was difficult to understand or explain the
destruction of hospitals, schools, prisons, United Nations facilities,
small factories and repair shops, agricultural processing plants and
almost 40,000 homes.
The Goldstone committee examined closely the cause of deaths of the
1,387 Palestinians who perished, and the degree of damage to the various
areas. The conclusion was that the civilian areas were targeted and the
devastation was deliberate. Again, the criticism of Israel in the
Goldstone report is justified.
He has called on the United States, Israel and others who dispute the
accuracy of the report to conduct an independent investigation of their
own. Hamas leaders have announced that their investigation is under way,
but Israel has rejected Judge Goldstones request.
Putting this dispute aside, it is important to examine present
circumstances and the need to prevent further suffering. The rocket fire
from Gaza is now being severely restrained, perhaps because of the
certainty of Israeli retaliation, but the punishment of the 1.5 million
Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza continues. Now and for the past 10
months, Israel has not permitted cement, lumber, panes of glass, or
other building materials to pass their entry points into Gaza. Several
hundred thousand homeless people suffered through last winter in a few
tents, under plastic sheets, or huddled in caves dug into the debris of
their former homes. The weather was warmer when I was there several
months later, but the description of suffering through the winter cold
was heartbreaking.
Another winter is now approaching, and neither the Israelis nor the
international community has taken steps to alleviate the Gazans plight.
United Nations agencies and leaders in the European community have
offered to provide an avenue of channeling funds and building materials
directly to the people in need, completely bypassing the Hamas political
leaders. These officials, both in Gaza and in Damascus, have assured me
that they would accept this arrangement.
There would be no chance for the misuse of such assistance for weapons,
military fortifications, or other non-humanitarian purposes.
I was informed recently by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia that he has
pledged $1 billion, and other Arab leaders have added an additional $300
million for this purpose. There is little doubt that other nations would
also be generous.
Without ascribing blame to either of the disputing parties, it is
imperative that the United States and the international community take
steps to assure that the rebuilding of Gaza be commenced, and without
delay. The cries of homeless and freezing people demand relief.
Jimmy Carter was president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and is
a member of the Elders.
------------------------------------
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