UN debates Goldstone report on war crimes

James Reinl, United Nations Correspondent

• Last Updated: November 04. 2009 11:44PM UAE / November 4. 2009 7:44PM GMT

NEW YORK // At the behest of Arab nations, the UN General Assembly yesterday debated a controversial report on war crimes committed during Israel’s winter invasion of Gaza and appeared ready to demand both sides in the conflict undertake credible investigations.

UN members began what was expected to be several hours of debate before voting on a resolution sponsored by the UAE, Palestine and 16 other Arab UN members on whether to support the so-called “Goldstone report”.

The report of the fact-finding mission led by the South African jurist, Richard Goldstone, was highly critical of Israeli aggression during its 22-day invasion of the coastal Palestinian Strip, which ended in January.

It accused Israel and Hamas, Gaza’s Islamist rulers, of atrocities and called on both sides to mount credible investigations within six months or face a potential war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

The 574-page document has become a subject of heated debate after being attacked by Israel as “one-sided” and meeting with scepticism from the permanent five members of the UN Security Council – Britain, France, Russia, China and the US.

An Arab coalition has pushed to keep the report on the international agenda and towards the UN’s 15-nation council, the sole body empowered to refer war crimes prosecutions to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Last month, the Geneva-based Human Rights Council endorsed the report on the conflict, which left almost 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead, despite Israeli and US claims that continued debate jeopardised progress on stalled peace talks.

Delegates are expected to adopt the draft Arab resolution following the General Assembly meeting, voting for a document that calls for investigations “that are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards”.

The text also asks Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, to monitor the implementation of the draft resolution and report back to the General Assembly within three months with “a view to considering further action, if necessary, by the relevant UN organs and bodies, including by the Security Council”.

Although any resolution will be non-binding, the Arab sponsors chose to proceed through the General Assembly because they can count on support from the Muslim-majority, African and non-aligned nations that form the bulk of the body’s 192 membership.

An adopted resolution will reflect the views of the broader international community and put further pressure on Israel to mount its own probes into alleged war crimes and Mr Ban to refer the Goldstone report to the Security Council.

The UAE came out in support of the fact-finding mission last month, with Salem al Dhanhani, an envoy to the UN, describing “savage military operations launched by the Israeli occupying forces against the civilians of Gaza” during a debate on Palestinian sovereignty.

The Goldstone report concluded that Israel used disproportionate force – deliberately targeting civilians, using Palestinians as human shields, and destroying civilian infrastructure. It likewise condemned Hamas rocket squads for targeting Israeli civilians.

Israel has lobbied against any bid to bring the Goldstone report to the 15-nation council, with Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, arguing that such a move would undermine Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks.

The US has said the Goldstone report should remain in the Human Rights Council, while China and Russia have historically avoided placing human rights issues on the Security Council agenda.

Analysts say none of the council’s veto-wielding members has an interest in supporting war crimes investigations in Israel because such a move would set a precedent for probes into their own military activities abroad.

On Tuesday, The US House of Representatives adopted a sharply worded but symbolic resolution urging the US president, Barack Obama, to fight UN endorsement of the Goldstone report’s findings.

Legislators overwhelmingly approved a non-binding resolution crafted by the Republican Representative, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, that calls the report “irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy”.

Against this reluctance from major powers, Steve Crawshaw, a UN expert from the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch, said the assembly debate was helping to maintain the momentum of the report.

“It is crucial to increase the pressure and see some real investigations happen,” he said. “A broad consensus in voting for the resolution will help. Mass abstentions from, for example, the Europeans, will be very disappointing and unhelpful for the signal it will send.”

Jeffrey Laurenti, a UN specialist from the New York-based think tank, The Century Foundation, said the debate makes it more difficult for Mr Obama and other leaders to “shelve” the report.

“It also puts more pressure on the Israelis because it keeps this issue alive,” he said. “You already have some voices in Israel urging the government to set up an inquiry in order to pre-empt an ICC inquiry.”

jreinl@thenational.ae