Other members of Goldstone Commission defend report
It should surprise no one that the members of the Goldstone Commission other than Goldstone himself are still defending the report We concur in our view that there is no justification for any demand or expectation for reconsideration of the report as nothing of substance has appeared that would in any way change the context, findings or conclusions of that report with respect to any of the parties to the Gaza conflict. Indeed, there is no UN procedure or precedent to that effect.Given what we know about the biases of the other group members, this is not at all surprising. They were more than willing to put their prestige behind this report. And now, it is they who will try to keep it in the public domain.
The report of the fact-finding mission contains the conclusions made after diligent, independent and objective consideration of the information related to the events within our mandate, and careful assessment of its reliability and credibility. We firmly stand by these conclusions.
Also, it is the prerogative of the UN to take cognisance of any evidence subsequently gathered under domestic procedures that it finds credible and in accordance with international standards. Over 18 months after publication of the report, however, we are very far from reaching that point.
The mandate of the mission did not require it to conduct a judicial or even a quasi-judicial investigation. The mission and the report are part of a truth-seeking process that could lead to effective judicial processes. Like all reports of similar missions of the UN, it provided the basis for parties to conduct investigations for gathering of evidence, as required by international law, and, if so warranted, prosecution of individuals who ordered, planned or carried out international crimes.
In the case of the Gaza conflict, we believe that both parties held responsible in this respect, have yet to establish a convincing basis for any claims that contradict the findings of the mission's report.
By the way, please let me know if you find the word "Hamas" anywhere in their statement.
What could go wrong?
Labels: Christine Chenkin, Desmond Travers, Goldstone Commission, Hina Jilani
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:20 PM
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