Hamas en Israël moeten zelf onderzoek doen naar de oorlogsmisdaden die zij rond de jaarwisseling op de Gazastrook hebben gepleegd. Zo leggen ze daarvoor rekenschap af.
Dat hebben de Verenigde Naties verklaard. Wanneer zij dat binnen een half jaar niet doen, dan kunnen ze worden aangeklaagd bij het Internationaal Strafhof wegens oorlogsmisdaden en misdaden tegen de menselijkheid.
Het Nederlands parlement en minister Maxime Verhagen (Buitenlandse Zaken) zijn ook van mening dat Israel en Hamas zelf een onderzoek moeten instellen.
Dat was de uitkomst van een debat in de Kamer dat dinsdag werd gevoerd. De minister zal deze week bij de VN-Mensenrechtenraad aandringen op zo'n onderzoek.
“Laat de strijdende partijen deze beschuldigingen zelf onderzoeken,” bepleit kamerlid Van Dam (PvdA).
De Kamer en minister Verhagen vielen hem bij: “Zo'n onderzoek is dienstbaar aan het vredesproces,” aldus Verhagen.
Hij zal deze week binnen de VN-Mensenrechtenraad aandringen op een resolutie met die strekking.
Goldstone
De commissie Goldstone heeft voor de VN onderzoek uitgevoerd naar mogelijke oorogsmisdaden en misdaden tegen de menselijkheid die zijn gepleegd tijdens de strijd die zich begin 2009 afspeelde.
Vorige week bracht het rapport-Goldstone naar buiten dat Israël en de Palestijnse beweging Hamas tijdens de Gazaoorlog oorlogsmisdaden hebben gepleegd en het humanitair recht hebben geschonden. Dit kan oplopen tot misdaden tegen de menselijkheid.
Dit rapport dringt aan op eigen onderzoek van Israel en Hamas, zodat deze partijen verantwoording afleggen voor hun daden.
De VN wil een onderzoek van Hamas en Israel binnen een half jaar zien. Anders kunnen deze partijen die worden beschuldigd van de misdaden aangeklaagd worden bij het Internationaal Gerechtshof wegens het plegen van oorlogsmisdaden en misdaden tegen de menselijkheid.
Zie ook:
Missie VN vindt bewijs oorlogsmisdaden Israël en Palestijnse militanten
Robvandam (Robson)
Het verslag van de VN over de conclusie van de commissie Goldstone
HEAD OF UN RIGHTS PROBE INTO GAZA CONFLICT URGES ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WAR CRIMES
The head of the United Nations fact finding mission into the Gaza conflict today urged an end to impunity for human rights violations committed there earlier this year, given evidence that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants are guilty of serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, which may amount to crimes against humanity.
“It is accountability above all that is called for in the aftermath of the regrettable violence that has caused so much misery for so many,” Justice Richard Goldstone said as he presented the mission’s report to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, which mandated the probe.
Following its three-month investigation, the mission concluded that serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed by Israel in the context of its military operations in Gaza from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, and that Israel committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity.
The four-member team, whose 575-page report was released earlier this month, also found that Palestinian armed groups had committed war crimes, as well as possibly crimes against humanity.
Justice Goldstone urged the 47-member Council to implement a number of measures, including referral of the mission’s report to the Security Council, since neither the Government of Israel nor the responsible Palestinian authorities have so far carried out any credible investigations into alleged violations.
“The lack of accountability for war crimes and possible crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point; the ongoing lack of justice is undermining any hope for a successful peace process and reinforcing an environment that fosters violence,” he stated.
The report recommends that the Security Council require Israel and the authorities in Gaza to report to it, within six months, on investigations and prosecutions it should carry out with regard to the violations identified by the mission.
It also recommends that the Security Council set up a body of independent experts to report to it on the progress of the Israeli and Palestinian investigations and prosecutions.
If the experts’ reports do not indicate within six months that independent proceedings are taking place, the mission says the Security Council should refer the situation in Gaza to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) – the independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
“Now is the time for action,” said Justice Goldstone, a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. “A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long.”
The other members of the team are Christine Chinkin, Professor of International Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science at the University of London; Hina Jilani, Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders; and retired Colonel Desmond Travers, member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI).
(VN: New York, Sep 29, 2009)
woensdag 30 september 2009
woensdag 9 september 2009
Palestijnse economie heeft krachtige nieuwe strategie nodig
FALTERING PALESTINIAN ECONOMY NEEDS BOLD NEW STRATEGY, CONTENDS UN REPORT
The economy of the occupied Palestinian territory faces unprecedented challenges from coping with Israeli closures to the loss of natural resources, the United Nations said in a new report, calling for an economic strategy that marks a bold departure from the norm.
“An alternative approach which recognizes the realities of the Palestinian economy and the evident incompatibility between occupation and development has become imperative,” the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stated in a news release on its 2009 report on assistance to the Palestinian people.
“This requires a shift in the dynamics of Palestinian economic policy from those driven by the demands of occupation to one based on the developmental priorities and aspirations of Palestinian people,” it added.
According to the report, the Palestinian economy lost ground for the ninth year in a row in 2008, posting 2 per cent growth, despite extensive reforms by the Palestinian Authority and $1.9 billion in donor support.
The economic decline is rooted in Israel’s closure policy, the erosion of the Palestinian productive base, the loss of some of the territory’s most fertile land and natural resources to the Israeli separation barrier, and expanding settlement activities, the report noted.
Poverty continued to widen and deepen, and the trade deficit as a ration of gross domestic product (GDP) reached an all-time high of 79 per cent.
The report also noted that Gaza has been dealt a particularly severe blow owing to the two-year old Israeli blockade and the recent conflict, with the latter causing economic losses estimated at $4 billion – almost three times the size of Gaza’s economy.
In addition, living conditions and access to sources of livelihood in Gaza are currently at their worst since 1967, with poverty affecting 90 per cent of the area’s 1.5 million inhabitants.
In response to the worsening humanitarian and economic crisis in Gaza, UNCTAD has designed an emergency package to support ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
The agency said a review of 25 years of reporting on the subject has revealed the need for a “bold departure” from the conventional approach, which leaves unchallenged the context, constraints and policies of the occupation.
It stressed the need for a “strategic repositioning” of Palestinian economic policy aimed at restoring territorial integrity, addressing the specific needs of the war-torn economy, and laying the grounds for a future viable State in line with UN resolutions.
(VN: 08-09-2009_
The economy of the occupied Palestinian territory faces unprecedented challenges from coping with Israeli closures to the loss of natural resources, the United Nations said in a new report, calling for an economic strategy that marks a bold departure from the norm.
“An alternative approach which recognizes the realities of the Palestinian economy and the evident incompatibility between occupation and development has become imperative,” the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stated in a news release on its 2009 report on assistance to the Palestinian people.
“This requires a shift in the dynamics of Palestinian economic policy from those driven by the demands of occupation to one based on the developmental priorities and aspirations of Palestinian people,” it added.
According to the report, the Palestinian economy lost ground for the ninth year in a row in 2008, posting 2 per cent growth, despite extensive reforms by the Palestinian Authority and $1.9 billion in donor support.
The economic decline is rooted in Israel’s closure policy, the erosion of the Palestinian productive base, the loss of some of the territory’s most fertile land and natural resources to the Israeli separation barrier, and expanding settlement activities, the report noted.
Poverty continued to widen and deepen, and the trade deficit as a ration of gross domestic product (GDP) reached an all-time high of 79 per cent.
The report also noted that Gaza has been dealt a particularly severe blow owing to the two-year old Israeli blockade and the recent conflict, with the latter causing economic losses estimated at $4 billion – almost three times the size of Gaza’s economy.
In addition, living conditions and access to sources of livelihood in Gaza are currently at their worst since 1967, with poverty affecting 90 per cent of the area’s 1.5 million inhabitants.
In response to the worsening humanitarian and economic crisis in Gaza, UNCTAD has designed an emergency package to support ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
The agency said a review of 25 years of reporting on the subject has revealed the need for a “bold departure” from the conventional approach, which leaves unchallenged the context, constraints and policies of the occupation.
It stressed the need for a “strategic repositioning” of Palestinian economic policy aimed at restoring territorial integrity, addressing the specific needs of the war-torn economy, and laying the grounds for a future viable State in line with UN resolutions.
(VN: 08-09-2009_
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