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UN Fact-Finding Mission: A Case of Politicizing the Law

[Washington Times] Robert P. Barnidge Jr. - During Israel's military effort to stop thousands of Hamas rockets from being launched into southern Israel from Gaza at the turn of the year, it was truly amazing to see the streets of major international capitals filled with the protests of self-proclaimed "human rights" and "peace" activists joined in lock step with militant Islamists and anti-Semites. It seemed as if Hamas could do no wrong and Israel could do no right. The UN Human Rights Council on Jan. 12 adopted a resolution which called for a fact-finding mission to "investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by the occupying Power, Israel, against the Palestinian people." Rather than appreciating the good-faith efforts the Israel Defense Forces had made to comply with the laws of war and international human rights law in a complex urban environment of asymmetrical warfare, the mission seemed more interested in caricature than dispassionate inquiry. Unfortunately, this report is just the beginning of a process that will continue to unfold in the coming months as it seeks to set in motion a series of actions against Israel by the UN Security Council and General Assembly and the International Criminal Court. The writer teaches international law and terrorism and the laws of war at the School of Law at the University of Reading in England.
2009-10-02 08:00:00
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