Tagged: UNHRC
UN asks Oz to investigate ‘root cause’ of attacks on Indian
PTI | msn news | UN(Geneva) | 05/03/2010
United Nations has described as "disturbing" the continuing attacks on Indians in Australia, with its rights commissioner Navi Pillay asking Canberra to get to the bottom of the matter. "While the Australian authorities have questioned whether these incidents were racially-motivated, there is a need for concerted attention by federal and state authorities, both in terms of the investigation and prosecution of such crimes, as well as addressing the root causes behind such violence," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Pillay said.
The top UN official described that the spate of attacks on Indian residents in Australia as "disturbing", and called for the government of Australia to get to the bottom of the matter. There have been over 100 cases of attacks on Indians, mostly on students, in Australia since the last year.
Pillay also expressed concern at the continuing human rights violations in Sri Lanka. "The opportunity for peace and reconciliation continues to be marred by the treatment of journalists, human rights defenders and other critics of the
US decries Cambodia’s Uighur move
BBC NEWS | 2009/12/20 | 11:00:28 GMT
The US has expressed deep concern about the fate of 20 Uighur asylum seekers deported from Cambodia back to China. A statement by the US embassy in Phnom Penh came a day after the Uighurs were put on a plane to China, despite pleas from the UN refugee agency. The agency condemned the expulsions, saying Cambodia had committed a grave breach of international refugee law. The Uighurs fled to Cambodia after mass ethnic riots in China in July. Beijing has referred to the group as criminals. Human rights organisations have warned that the asylum seekers are likely to face persecution on return to China.
Intense pressure
“The United States is deeply concerned about the welfare of these individuals, who had sought protection under international law,” the US embassy in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh said in Saturday’s statement. “We are also deeply disturbed that the Cambodian government decided to forcibly remove the group without appropriate participation by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.” The embassy also urged China to “uphold international norms and to ensure transparency, due process and proper treatment of persons in its territory”. Continue reading
Israel Plans ‘Military Probe’ Review to Divert Pressure
26/11/2009 | 7:30pm GMT+5:30 | nvs
Benjamin Netanyahu (Right)
Increasing internal and external pressures have lead Israeli Government to rethink about its firm stand of denying re-probe of what UN commission accused as war crimes committed by IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) during its attack on Gaza in Dec ’08-Jan09 period. It has been under severe pressure to set up independent probe commission to look into war crimes allegations raised by Richard Goldstone lead commission set up by UNHRC. Israel denied every allegation made in ‘Goldstone Report’ and accused Goldstone of having done biased investigation who was himself a South African Jew having a well built house in Israel. Mr. Richard Gold stone rejected Israeli allegations and challenged the US to concrete examples of any flaw in his report submitted to UNHRC. The report accused both IDF and Hamas with targeting civilians during the war. Major part of the report consisted description of war crimes committed by IDF. Both parties accused Goldstone of being biased. The report recommended for both sides to conduct independent inquiries failing which would lead them to face international prosecution at Hague. The report was passed in UNSC meeting with 25-6 votes.
As per the BBC report, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister David Ayalon told “another investigation could be conducted if it was necessary to prove… there were no wrongdoings”. He insisted Israeli army probes by military investigators were already “completely independent… but we are looking into further reviews as Continue reading
Abbas and the Goldstone Report – Our Shame is Complete
Counterpunch | October 15, 2009 | RAMZY BAROUD
As Israeli bombs fell on the Gaza Strip during its one-sided war between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009, millions around the world took to the streets in complete and uncompromising outrage. The level of barbarity in that war, especially as it was conducted against a poor, defenseless and physically trapped nation, united people of every color, race and religion. But among those who seemed utterly unmoved, unreservedly cold were some Palestinian officials in the West Bank. Mahmoud Habbash, the PA Minister of Social Affairs is but one of those individuals. His appearances on Aljazeera, during those fateful days were many. On one half of the screen would be screaming, disfigured children, mutilated women, and search parties digging in the dark for dead bodies, at times entire families. On the other, was Habbash, spewing political insults at his Hamas rivals in Gaza, repeating the same message so tirelessly parroted by his Israeli colleagues? Every time his face appeared on the screen, I cringed. His every unruly shriek reinforced my sense of shame. It’s Shame, perhaps, but never confusion. Those who understand how the Oslo agreement of September 1993 morphed into a culture that destroyed the very fabric of Palestinian society can fully appreciate the behavior of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank during the Gaza war, before it and today. Continue reading
UN Vote backs Gaza ‘War Crimes’ Report by 25-6
BBC NEWS | 2009/10/16 | 17:07:58 GMT
The UN Human Rights Council has backed a report into the Israeli offensive in Gaza that accuses both Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes. The report by Richard Goldstone calls for credible investigations by Israel and Hamas, and suggests international war crimes prosecutions if they do not. Twenty-five countries voted for the resolution, while six were against. Both Israel and the US opposed official endorsement of the report, saying it would set back Middle East peace hopes. The Palestinian Authority initially backed deferring a vote, but changed its position after domestic criticism. Palestinians and human rights groups say more than 1,400 Gazans were killed in the 22-day conflict that ended in January, but Israel puts the figure at 1,166. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, were killed.
‘Culture of impunity’
Before the vote in Geneva – in which 11 countries abstained and five others, including the UK and France, chose not to vote – the Palestinian Authority’s representative argued that the matter was simply about respect for the rule of law. The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, meanwhile insisted that now was the time to end the “culture of impunity” which continues to prevail in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. In contrast, the Israeli government had lobbied intensively against the resolution, saying the Goldstone report was biased against Israel and removed the right of nations to defend themselves against terrorists. It also complained that the vote was not simply on the Goldstone report, but on a Palestinian-backed resolution that criticised Israel and ignored Hamas. The resolution also made Continue reading
Allies Advise Israel to Probe Gaza Crimes
15/10/2009 | 8:08 pm GMT+5.30 | nvs
Richard Goldstone
It seems Israel has come under some pressure or strong advice to probe what the UN judge Mr. Richard Goldstone found as War Crimes during the 22-day conflict which began on 27 December 2008. The Goldstone Report accused Israel of using disproportionate force against Palestine and deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians. Palestinian Hamas militants are also accused of indiscriminate rocket fire at Israeli civilians. Both Hamas and Israel rejected the report findings accusing it ‘biased’ and favouring terrorism. Israel said it has already conducted a detailed enquiry and found that no war crimes as pointed out by the Goldstone Report, had taken place from Israeli side. It vehemently argued it has right to self-defence.
As UN Human Rights Council is going to discuss the Goldstone report today i.e. on 15th October London’s UN envoy asked Israel to hold “full, credible and impartial” investigations. Israel received almost similar calls from his counter parts of the US and France. Though Mr. Goldstone has presented his report two weeks ago, the UNHRC has deferred the discussion on report to March of the next year. Palestinians were angered with this development and expressed their serious concern that the allegations made against Israel in the report were being ignored by the International community. Again the decision to defer the discussion was reconsidered and decided to meet for discussions on 15th October. Continue reading
UN Security Council to debate Israeli ‘War Crimes’ in Gaja
Today’s national and international news papers published a news indicating that the United Nations Security Council would debate Israeli ‘War Crimes’ committed during Dec’08-Jan’09 Gaza. The UN has brought forward a regular Security Council meeting on the Middle East after Libya demanded an urgent debate on alleged war crimes in Gaza. Arab states say the 14 October debate must tackle a report which criticised Israel, after the US argued against an emergency session dedicated to it. Fallowing a Palestinian request the UN Human Rights Council delayed its debate on the findings of the Goldstone report. . Libya’s envoy to the Security Council said its aim was to see that the momentum be kept alive. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has come under sharp criticism at home for requesting the UNHRC delay, which followed intense pressure from the US and Isrel. State department spokesman Ian Kelly insisted the US focus was solely on reviving the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process and wanted “to clear the decks of any issues that might impede our progress towards this”. Palestinian officials voiced “full support” for Libya’s efforts to get the issue on the agenda of the Security Council, and senior PA politician Yasser Abed Rabbo has called the request for a UNHCR delay a “mistake”. Mr. Abbas himself has ordered an “investigation” into how his own government made the decision, in an apparent attempt to head off a wave of anger and protests.
It is also said that the rivalry between Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas has lead Mohummad Abbas to request for delay. It is widely believed that there have been hidden ties between Israel and PA, which controls Fatah, so as to defeat ‘Hamas’ the more radical Palestinian Organisation. Palestinian West Bank is governed by PA at present where as Gaza Strip is governed by Hamas faction. Israel has been effectively making use of the rivalry between PA and Hamas through the policy of ‘divide and rule’, without compromising it’s racial attacks on either areas ruled by Palestinian factions. Interestingly enough, after successfully destroying most of ‘Gaza’ during deadliest “Dec ’08 – Jan ’09 war” now Israel is busy constructing new settlements in occupied West Bank. Palestinian factions must find some way out to resolve their rivalry and form a single Palestinian Organisation. ……nvs
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Palestinian U-turn on Gaza report
BBC News | 2009/10/07 | 13:11:59 GMT
The UN Security Council is set to discuss whether to hold an emergency session on the Goldstone report on the conflict in Gaza nine months ago. Libya, the only Arab state on the 15-member body, will request the session in a closed-door meeting. Palestinian officials voiced their “full support” for the meeting – after leaders were excoriated for requesting a deferral of a UN debate last week. Both Israel and Gaza militants are accused of war crimes in the report. One senior Palestinian politician, Yasser Abed Rabbo, has said the leadership had erred by seeking the deferral of the debate at the Human Rights Council until next March. “We must say a mistake has been made. This mistake should not be underestimated or concealed,” he said in a radio interview. Many Palestinians have expressed outrage at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for seeming to let Israelis off the hook following Goldstone’s trenchant criticism of Israel’s blockade of Gaza and attacks on its citizens. The UN panel led by eminent South African judge Richard Goldstone accused Israel of using disproportionate force and deliberately harming civilians. It urged the UN Security Council to refer allegations to the International Criminal Court (ICC) if either side failed to investigate and prosecute suspects. Israel has rejected the evidence and said it had already investigated its troops’ conduct, clearing most of the subjects of wrongdoing.
Bad for peace
Palestinian delegates in Geneva reportedly came under intense pressure from the US and Israel to seek the delay of the Human Rights Council debate. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that the Continue reading
UNHRC Report seeks close Gaza scrutiny
BBC NEWS | Barbara Plett | BBC UN correspondent, New York | 2009/09/16 | 03:52:06 GMT
A UN investigation has recommended a process that could land Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC). The probe, headed by former South African Judge Richard Goldstone, concludes that Israel “committed actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity” during its Gaza offensive in December last year. It asks the UN Security Council to call on Israel to conduct “appropriate investigations,” to monitor them, and to refer the matter to the ICC if they’re deemed not to meet international standards. The report found that the firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups also amounted to war crimes, and called for a similar process of accountability for the Gaza authorities. But the 34-page summary devoted much less space to the Palestinian violations, and particularly slammed what it called Israel’s disproportionate use of force.
UN chief ‘reluctant’
Despite the strong conclusions, there is skepticism here about how far these recommendations will go – indeed whether the matter will even get on to the UN Security Council’s agenda. The first step is for the UN’s Human Rights Council which commissioned Mr. Goldstone’s fact-finding mission to request UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to bring the matter to the attention of the UN Security Council. When asked whether he would do so, Mr. Ban avoided answering the question directly, instead expressing support for Mr. Goldstone’s report. “I Continue reading
UNHRC Judge Goldstone defends UN Gaza report
The UN Judge has found human rights violations on both sides. Yet both sides accused it biased. Consider what Israel ambassador Aharon Leshno-Yaar has said on the report posted below. “the report is ‘shameful'”, claiming “it has cherry-picked incidents for political effect, ignoring Israel’s right to defend itself.” So this one eyed man admits what the report has found as ‘the deliberate attacks on Palestinian civilians by Israel’ is true. But he defends those attacks as ‘Israel’s right to defend itself’. But what about Palestinians’ right to protect their land from occupation? What about their right to work, right to live with dignity, right of their nation to be sovereign? How the 60 years of occupation, racial discrimination and Zionist regime’s deliberate crimes against humanity backed by western powers should be seen? Perhaps a new apt word has to be discovered to describe these years of anti-human crimes! A friend who commented on one of my earlier post accused me of blindly believing what media like CNN writes, which is not a fact. I request that friend to read my another post that tells whom these high powered international media represent and to watch how the news are filtered to extract the required meaning. -nvs
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BBC NEWS | 2009/09/30 09:26:19 GMT
UN investigator Richard Goldstone has defended his damning report on Israel’s conduct in during its operation Gaza. As the UN human rights watchdog debated the report, which accused Israel and Hamas of war crimes, he rejected what he called a “barrage of criticism”. A US official dubbed the report “deeply flawed”. Israel dismissed it as biased. Separately, a UK court has rejected an attempt by a Palestinian group to have Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak arrested for alleged war crimes. Under the principle of universal jurisdiction, war crimes suspects can be tried in British courts. But the British court ruled that Mr. Barak had diplomatic immunity. A slew of critical reports have raised concerns that Israel and Palestinian militants may have Continue reading
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