UN Remains Divided
By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer
The United Nation's Human Rights Council has called for those responsible for war crimes during last summer's Gaza conflict to be brought to trial.
The Bright Side: Forty-five countries supported the resolution, with only the United States voting against. The vote comes in the wake of a scathing UN report detailing "possible war crimes" during the 51 days of fighting. The investigators say they found "serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by Israel, in some cases amounting to war crimes."
The Dark Side: They also blame Palestinian resistance for those crimes! The resolution doesn’t point the finger at those responsible but says they should face justice in either national or international courts, which is impossible. In other words, it refuses to take any responsibility to this end, which is tragic.
Under the circumstances, expect no international courts to try and charge the Zionist regime’s war criminals and certainly no justice for the long-suffering people of Gaza. The Council does not have the power to order that suspects be brought before the International Criminal Court. It only urges both Israel and Palestinian authorities to "cooperate fully" with any criminal inquiries that may be opened.
Amidst all this, how silly of Human Rights Watch to welcome the resolution saying it "sends a strong message that the perpetrators of serious violations should be held to account. Israel and Palestine, as well as Hamas, should respect the resolution’s call to cooperate with the International Criminal Court!"
Lest we forget more than 2,140 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed during the conflict. Of the 73 deaths on the Israeli side, most were soldiers. Strange enough, the UN report only criticizes the "huge firepower" Israel used, particularly against residential buildings and UN schools.
These beautiful words mean nothing to those who are still under siege in the enclave, where the Zionist regime’s ultimate definition of terrorism has continued to defy governments, rights groups, the media and even the United Nations.
In effect, the UN refuses to condemn Israel because its failure stretches from Gaza to New York. The self-serving resolution doesn’t name and shame the states that have sponsored or continue to sponsor the usurper regime. It doesn’t offer any help to the Palestinian government and people in their fight against occupation and state terrorism either.
As the resolution demonstrates, the US government likes international law and backs Council resolutions when they serve its interests and purposes. But when a resolution threatens its allies like Israel, then, it is vetoed and the rules are bent, ignored or subjected to novel lawyering.
In this particular case, the application of international law has also been entirely optional for a messy, dysfunctional and divided body called the United Nations. What a waste.
The Dark Side: They also blame Palestinian resistance for those crimes! The resolution doesn’t point the finger at those responsible but says they should face justice in either national or international courts, which is impossible. In other words, it refuses to take any responsibility to this end, which is tragic.
Under the circumstances, expect no international courts to try and charge the Zionist regime’s war criminals and certainly no justice for the long-suffering people of Gaza. The Council does not have the power to order that suspects be brought before the International Criminal Court. It only urges both Israel and Palestinian authorities to "cooperate fully" with any criminal inquiries that may be opened.
Amidst all this, how silly of Human Rights Watch to welcome the resolution saying it "sends a strong message that the perpetrators of serious violations should be held to account. Israel and Palestine, as well as Hamas, should respect the resolution’s call to cooperate with the International Criminal Court!"
Lest we forget more than 2,140 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed during the conflict. Of the 73 deaths on the Israeli side, most were soldiers. Strange enough, the UN report only criticizes the "huge firepower" Israel used, particularly against residential buildings and UN schools.
These beautiful words mean nothing to those who are still under siege in the enclave, where the Zionist regime’s ultimate definition of terrorism has continued to defy governments, rights groups, the media and even the United Nations.
In effect, the UN refuses to condemn Israel because its failure stretches from Gaza to New York. The self-serving resolution doesn’t name and shame the states that have sponsored or continue to sponsor the usurper regime. It doesn’t offer any help to the Palestinian government and people in their fight against occupation and state terrorism either.
As the resolution demonstrates, the US government likes international law and backs Council resolutions when they serve its interests and purposes. But when a resolution threatens its allies like Israel, then, it is vetoed and the rules are bent, ignored or subjected to novel lawyering.
In this particular case, the application of international law has also been entirely optional for a messy, dysfunctional and divided body called the United Nations. What a waste.