WASHINGTON, May 18, 2009 (WAFA)- Human Rights Watch (HRW) said, yesterday, that American President Barack Obama “should endorse the comprehensive UN investigation, headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, into violations of international law” during the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, and “should urge Israel, when he meets today with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, to cooperate with the investigation.”
HRW added that, “the Obama administration has so far not made any public comment on the Goldstone investigation, but US officials continue to insist privately that it will be biased against Israel.” HRW criticized the mission's original mandate, which focused only on Israeli violations, as well as the disproportionate focus on Israeli rights violations in the past by the UN Human Rights Council, which ordered the inquiry. However, the amended mandate and Justice Goldstone's record as a jurist provide strong assurances of the inquiry's objectivity.
'Justice Goldstone's reputation for fairness and integrity is unmatched, and his investigation provides the best opportunity to address alleged violations by both Hamas and Israel,' said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. 'What's at stake is not just finding out the truth about what happened in Gaza, but the future of international efforts to hold those who violate international law accountable.
Justice Goldstone's mandate from the Human Rights Council is 'to investigate all violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law that might have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations that were conducted in Gaza during the period December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, whether before, during or after.' Goldstone agreed to lead the Human Rights Council investigation only after the mandate was broadened to look into violations by all parties to the Gaza conflict and not only by Israel.
Israel has not officially indicated whether it will cooperate with Justice Goldstone's investigation, but officials quoted in the media have indicated it will not.
'If Israel refuses to cooperate with the Goldstone investigation, and Washington supports that refusal, it suggests that what they really fear are criticisms that may emerge from a truly impartial look into the way this war was fought,' Roth said.
'A UN board of inquiry, in its report to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this month, said its own investigation into attacks on UN installations in Gaza should be supplemented by a more comprehensive international investigation.
