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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() United Nations U.N. bodies made a number of urgent interventions in an effort to end the violent clashes that began on September 29. The Commission on Human Rights, in a resolution issued at the end of a special session held October 17-19, "strongly condemn[ed] the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force in violation of international humanitarian law by the Israeli occupying Power against innocent and unarmed Palestinian civilians...which constitutes a flagrant and grave violation of the right to life and also constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity." The resolution established an independent inquiry commission to investigate Israeli human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law. It also requested several U.N. bodies-the commission's special rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; torture; violence against women; religious intolerance; racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; and the right to housing; its Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; and the representative of the Secretary-General for internally displaced persons-to conduct immediate investigations and report the findings to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-seventh session and, on an interim basis, to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session. The commission also requested High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson to undertake an urgent visit to the occupied territories and to facilitate the mechanisms of the Commission in the implementation of the resolution. From October 18 to October 20 the General Assembly (G.A.) reconvened its emergency special session on illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, originally convened in April 1997 under the assembly's "Uniting for peace" resolution. The G.A. "condemn[ed] acts of violence, especially the excessive use of force by the Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians," demanded that Israel fulfil its obligations and responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and "strongly support[ed] the establishment of a mechanism of inquiry." The Security Council adopted a resolution on October 7 that condemned "acts of violence, especially the excessive use of force against Palestinians," and called upon Israel to "abide scrupulously by its legal obligations and its responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention." Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Paris on October 4, and then on October 9 began nine days of intensive meetings in Israel, the Palestinian Authority territories, Lebanon, and Egypt. The special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions on October 5 urged the government of Israel to investigate all incidents of alleged killings by government forces without delay, to ensure that those responsible were brought to justice, and to ensure that its security forces respected international human rights standards. Israel continued to refuse to cooperate with the special rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Giorgio Giacomelli replaced Hannu Halinen in that post in December 1999. His first report, presented on March 15, found widespread Israeli violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law. A second report, presented to the Special Session of the Commission stated that during the clashes that began on September 29, the IDF and Israeli police had used deadly force "without warning, and without employing deterrence or gradual measures consistent with the minimum standards and methods of crowd control or management of civil unrest." On May 26 the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) offered Israel temporary membership in its regional grouping of U.N. member states. Full participation in many U.N. bodies, including the Security Council, is organized through regional groupings, and the Asian Group's unwillingness to admit Israel to that grouping had made it ineligible for many U.N. bodies. The U.S. credited its own high-level lobbying for the WEOG decision. European Union The European Union expanded its relationship with Israel, while continuing its role as intermediary in bilateral negotiations between Israel and its neighboring states and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including a January visit to the region by then-E.U. President Jaime Gama and repeated trips by E.U. Council Secretary-General and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana. E.U. member states voted against the Commission on Human Rights' October 19 resolution. The French representative to the commission said that while the E.U. supported convening the special session, provisions of the resolution went beyond the role of the commission and threatened the realization of agreements recently signed by Israel and the PLO. The Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement between the European Union (E.U.) and Israel came into force on June 1. In a statement following the Association Council's first meeting on June 13, the E.U. said it had "discussed human rights in Israel, in accordance with the provisions of the Association Agreement, which indicate that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and strengthening democracy are essential elements of the Agreement itself." The E.U. remained the largest single donor to the P.A. During a January 24 E.U. General Affairs Council meeting with President Yasser Arafat, the council said it would welcome the PA announcing a moratorium on the death penalty. United States Israel remained the largest recipient of U.S. aid which included U.S. $949 million in economic aid and $3.12 billion in military assistance-including a one-time grant of $1.2 billion in military aid pursuant to the October 1998 Wye River Memorandum between Israel and the PLO. The Palestinian Authority received no military aid and $485 million in economic aid, including a one-time grant of $400 million pursuant to the Wye River Memorandum. In 2000 the U.S. significantly stepped up efforts to broker a negotiated settlement between Israel and the PLO, including hosting multiple high level trips to the region and hosting a July 11-24 meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. In an agreement reached during the October 16-17 emergency summit held at Sharm al-Shaykh, Egypt, the U.S. agreed to head a trilateral U.S.-Israeli-Palestinian fact-finding committee to look into the sources of the violent clashes that began in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip on September 29, and to facilitate security cooperation and consultation between the two parties. On July 27, U.S. President Bill Clinton announced plans for "a comprehensive review" of U.S.-Israeli relations "with a view toward what we can do to ensure that Israeli maintains its qualitative edge," and a memorandum of understanding on U.S. assistance to Israel "with a goal of making a long-term commitment to the necessary support to modernize the IDF." Clinton also stated that he would issue a decision by the end of the year on whether to move the U.S. embassy to West Jerusalem. U.S. criticism of P.A. human rights violations continued to pay deference to perceived Israeli interests, as when State Department Spokesman James P. Rubin responded to a November 29, 1999 question about the P.A.'s arrests of signatories to a petition critical of its policies . While Rubin expressed concern "about any actions that limit the freedom of expression and peaceful dissent in the Palestinian Authority," he also stated that "Incitement to violence, however, would be another matter and does require a vigorous response," despite the lack of any evidence linking the petitioners to violence. In contrast, criticism of Israeli abuses, including torture of American citizens of Palestinian descent, was decidedly muted. When asked on December 3, 1999, if Secretary of State Madeleine Albright would raise torture in her meetings with Israeli officials, Rubin said, "with respect to the legislation authorizing the use of physical force, we try not to interfere with the internal Israeli public debate on this and political debate on this issue," but that the U.S. would welcome any actions that are consistent with internationally recognized human rights standards. Relevant Human Rights Watch Reports: Investigation into Unlawful Use of Force in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Northern Israel, 10/00 |
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