b********n
发帖数: 38600 | 1 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/world/middleeast/navi-pillay-
U.N. Official Cites ‘Strong Possibility’ of War Crimes in Gaza Conflict
GENEVA — The United Nations’ top human rights official, Navi Pillay, said
Wednesday that there was a “strong possibility” that Israel and Hamas have
committed war crimes with indiscriminate attacks on civilians during more
than two weeks of fighting with militants in Gaza.
Opening a special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in
Geneva, Ms. Pillay called for an investigation and accountability to end the
cycle of violence.
Ms. Pillay cited Israeli airstrikes on civilian homes in Gaza and the
shelling of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital two days ago, which killed four
people, as examples of actions that suggest “a strong possibility that
international humanitarian law has been violated in a manner that could
amount to war crimes.”
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
Open Source: Palestinian Family Finds Missing Son in YouTube Video of His
ShootingJULY 22, 2014
She also condemned Hamas and other militant groups for attacks on Israeli
civilians. And she said it was unacceptable to place military assets in
densely populated areas or to launch attacks from then. “The principles of
distinction and precaution are clearly not being observed by such
indiscriminate attacks on civilians by Hamas and other armed Palestinian
groups,” she said.
“The actions of one party do not absolve the other party of the need to
respect its obligations under international law,” said Ms. Pillay, the
United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
Nearly 650 Palestinians have been killed so far in the conflict, about three
-quarters of them civilians. Those figures, she said, belied Israel’s claim
that it had taken all necessary precautions to protect civilians.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Eviatar Manor,
criticized what he said was the council’s “ritual of naming and shaming
Israel.”
“There can be no moral symmetry between a terrorist aggressor and a
democracy defending itself,” he said.
In a comment directed at Ms. Pillay, he added, “In the protection of the
human rights of Israelis, this council and you, madam, have failed dismally.”
Riad Maliki, the foreign minister for the Palestinian Authority, said that
Israel had enjoyed an impunity that had “given rise to a legal void.” If
that continues, he said, “the credibility of the U.N., the international
community and the human rights system will be jeopardized.”
The 47-member council was due to vote later on a Palestinian resolution
calling on for an international commission of inquiry appointed by the
council’s president to investigate all human rights violations in Gaza and
the West Bank. |
|
