Israel and Hamas cornered by UN General Assembly

The London News.Net
Friday 6th November, 2009

The United Nations General Assembly has endorsed a report which found both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants were guilty of serious human rights violations during the 22-day conflict in the Gaza Strip over Christmas and New Year.

86% of countries voted in favour of the resolution endorsing what has come to be known as the Goldstone Report, named after the chairman of the investigative panel Justice Richard Goldstone.

The endorsement came after two days of debate in the Assembly, at the UN Headquarters in New York. 114 Member States voted in favour endorsing the report’s findings and its recommendations for further action. Eighteen nations voted against the resolution and another 44 countries abstained. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice boycotted the debate.

Justice Goldstone, a former war crimes prosecutor at the UN war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, headed a four-member panel which found that both sides committed serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity, during the conflict in December 2008 and January 2009.

The fact-finding team called for a number of measures, including the referral of the report to the Security Council, since neither the Israeli Government nor the responsible Palestinian authorities have so far carried out any credible investigations into alleged violations.

General Assembly President Ali Treki, speaking to journalists after the resolution was adopted, said that “this vote is an important declaration against impunity. It is a call for justice and accountability.”

Mr. Treki called on all concerned to devote themselves to implementing the contents of the resolution, which asks both the Israelis and Palestinians to carry out independent inquiries.

“Without justice, there can be no progress towards peace. A human being should be treated as a human being, regardless of his or her religion, race or nationality.”

The United States led the dissenters, which included Israel. "Israel rejects the resolution of the U.N. General Assembly, which is completely detached from realities on the ground that Israel must face," an Israeli Foreign Ministry statement issued Friday said.

Other countries to oppose the UN resolution included Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands.

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