THE STATEMENT （ＧＡＺＡ）
‐
Human Rights Now
28, November,2011
Two and a half years have
passed since the conflict in
To date, although various
investigations have been conducted and many resolutions have been adopted by
the United Nations (UN), justice for victims of gross violations of
international humanitarian law and human rights law is yet to be made. Those
who are responsible have not been prosecuted.
Considering the serious
limitations of investigations by domestic institutions, Human Rights Now (HRN),
a Tokyo-based international human rights NGO deems it very crucial for all
parties concerned, including the UN, to take concrete and effective measures in
a timely manner to realize justice, ensure reparations for victims and stop
impunity.
It is evident that both sides of
the conflict have failed to conduct independent domestic investigations that
are prompt, effective, and in conformity with international law. They also
failed to prosecute the perpetrators of crimes under international law. Under such a condition, the International Criminal Court (ICC)
must inevitably play its role to realize the victims' legitimate rights.
In 2009, the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding
Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Report) was published. Based upon
this report, the General Assembly adopted the Resolution
calling upon Israel and the Palestinian side "within a period of three months,
to undertake investigations that are independent, credible and in conformity
with international standards into the serious violations of international
humanitarian and international human rights law reported by the Fact-Finding
Mission". Notwithstanding the extension of the deadline, neither
As the HRN suggested in the
previous statement, there remain great concerns as to the public access to the
The Goldstone Report
concluded that the operations by Israel was deliberately disproportionate
attacks against the civilian and that the
primary responsibility for those military actions lies in those who designed, planned, ordered and controlled
the operations. However, no legal investigations against such persons have been
conducted in
As the Report of
the UN Committee of Independent Experts established by the Human
Rights Council shows, it is abundantly
clear that neither Israel nor the Palestinian side has capacity or willingness for
such an investigation.. Consequently, the 16th session of the Human Rights Council
recommended the 66th session of the General Assembly to submit the
Report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza conflict to the Security
Council, with the recommendation that the Security Council should refer the
situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories to the prosecutor
of the International Criminal Court, in pursuant with Article 13(b) of the Rome
Statute.
The HRN calls upon the
General Assembly to take a decisive role as requested by the Human Rights
Council. It also calls upon the Security
Council to refer the situation to the prosecutor of the International Criminal
Court pursuant to Article 13(b) of the
Rome Statute.
The persisting impunity of
the grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law makes a
peaceful and perpetual settlement of the conflict more difficult. One of the
most important things to promote peace is to restore and respect human rights
of the people living in the areas and to promote peace in a fair manner in
accordance with rules under
international law.
We call upon the UN Secretary
General, members of the Security Council
and all of the UN member States to realize the rule of law, and play a constant
role in the fight against impunity.
