Originally published on the CGS blog on September 21, 2009.
On September 15th, during the ongoing 12th session of the Human Rights Council, the U.N. Fact- Finding Mission on the conflict in Gaza, between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009, presented its report. The mission was led by Justice Richard Goldstone, former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. This report concluded that there is evidence of severe human rights violations and also war crimes on the part of the Israeli forces. While the report mainly focuses on the abuses of the Israelis, it acknowledges that there is evidence that Palestinian troops also committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity. According to the press release,
“Israel imposed a blockade amounting to collective punishment and carried out a systematic policy of progressive isolation and deprivation of the Gaza Strip. During the Israeli military operation… houses, factories, wells, schools, hospitals, police stations and other public buildings were destroyed. Families are still living amid the rubble of their former homes long after the attacks ended, as reconstruction has been impossible due to the continuing blockade. More than 1,400 people were killed during the military operation.”
The effects of this violence on the people of Gaza, especially the children, will be long-lasting, because attacks were focused indiscriminately on all the people of Gaza, there seemed to be no military restraint. There was no real distinction between Palestinian military personnel and civilians during the attacks.
The report concludes that the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory requires action, and suggests that the U.N. Security Council forces Israel to report to it “on investigations and prosecutions it should carry out with regard to the violations” detailed in the report. It also suggests that the Security Council creates a group of experts to report to it on any individual proceedings by Israel to rectify the harm done. If in six months there seems to be no real change in Israel’s actions, the report suggests that the Security Council should refer the situation to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor. The reporters also suggest that the same actions be taken towards the authorities in Gaza.
For more information on the International Criminal Court, click here.
To learn more about human rights and the Human Rights Council, click here.
