United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict

The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict was a team established by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during the Gaza War as an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory , particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip , in connection with the conflict. The mission was established on 3 April 2009, by the President of the UNHRC. Richard Goldstone , a respected international jurist from South Africa, was appointed to head the mission, accompanied by Christine Chinkin of the United Kingdom, Hina Jilani of Pakistan , and Desmond Travers of Ireland. The mission's final report was released 15 September 2009, and accused both Israeli Defense Forces and Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity . It recommended that the sides openly investigate their own conduct and, should they fail to do so, that the allegations to be brought to the International Criminal Court . The government of Israel rejected the report as prejudiced and full of errors, and also sharply rejected the charge that it had a policy of deliberately targeting civilians. The militant Islamic group Hamas , deemed a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, and others, which governs the Gaza Strip , initially rejected the report's findings, but then urged world powers to embrace it. The controversial report received wide support among developing countries in the United Nations , while Western countries were split between supporters and opponents of the resolutions endorsing the report. Supporters argued that the findings were accurate, that Goldstone was a fair, credible figure, and that the recommendations of the report should be implemented. In its 2009 Human Rights Report, the US Department of State described the report as "widely criticized for methodological failings, legal and factual errors, falsehoods, and for devoting insufficient attention to the asymmetrical nature of the conflict and the fact that Hamas and other Palestinian militants were deliberately operating in heavily populated urban areas of Gaza." On 16 October 2009, the UNHRC passed a resolution endorsing the report and criticizing Israel. Israel believed the the HRC resolution to be testimony to its long-standing animus toward their country . On 4 November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly , accepting an appeal from the HRC, Arab states, and Non-Aligned Group of mostly developing nations, passed a non-binding resolution calling for independent investigations to be conducted by Israel and the "Palestinian side"—Hamas is not mentioned—on allegations of war crimes described in the report. The harshly-worded General Assembly resolution was composed by Arab states and was not softened despite U.S. and European efforts. The resolution enjoyed wide support among the Non-Aligned Movement bloc and the Arab bloc. These states comprise an automatic majority of 120 votes. Most Western nations either voted against the resolution or abstained. On 3 November 2009, the United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution denouncing the report as "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy." In contrast, the European Parliament passed a resolution endorsing the Goldstone report in March 2010, but by a narrow margin. The non-binding resolution called on the bloc's member states to "publicly demand the implementation of [the report's] recommendations and accountability for all violations of international law, including alleged war crimes." REPORT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ON ITS NINTH SPECIAL SESSION , UNHCR, 27 February 2009 Legal row over Gaza report intensifies (BBC) United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict . UN condemns 'war crimes' in Gaza , BBC , 15 September 2009 'Syria, Somalia can't preach morality' 16 September 2009 Hamas drafts responses to its accusations in Goldstone report Haniyeh: World must back Goldstone's Gaza report , Ma'an, 20 September 2009. UN to debate Goldstone Gaza report next week Israel: UN 'detached from reality' for adopting Goldstone report Inside the General Assembly debate on the Goldstone Report; UPDATE V (Final Vote) EU Parliament backs Goldstone Report Despite heavy lobbying, EU parliament endorses Goldstone report

Richard Goldstone The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict , also known as the Goldstone Report , was a team established in April 2009 by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during the Gaza War (January 2009) as an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Palestinian territories , particularly the Gaza Strip , in connection with Gaza War . South African jurist Richard Goldstone was appointed to head the mission. Goldstone's work investigating violence led directly to him being nominated to serve as the first chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda from August 1994 to September 1996. The report accused both the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity . It recommended that each side openly investigate its own conduct, and to bring the allegations to the International Criminal Court if they failed to do so. The government of Israel rejected the report as prejudiced and full of errors, and also sharply rejected the charge that it had a policy of deliberately targeting civilians. The militant Islamic group Hamas initially rejected some of the report's findings, but then urged world powers to embrace it. The controversial report received wide support among countries in the United Nations , while Western countries were split between supporters and opponents of the resolutions endorsing the report. Critics of the report claimed that it contained methodological failings, legal and factual errors, and falsehoods, and devoted insufficient attention to the allegations that Hamas was deliberately operating in heavily populated areas of Gaza. On 1 April 2011, Goldstone retracted his claim that it was Israeli government policy to deliberately target citizens, saying "While the investigations published by the Israeli military and recognized in the U.N. committee's report have established the validity of some incidents that we investigated in cases involving individual soldiers, they also indicate that civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy." On 14 April 2011 the three other coauthors of the United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict of 2008–2009 Hina Jilani , Christine Chinkin and Desmond Travers released a joint statement criticizing Goldstone's recantation of this aspect of the report. They all agreed that the report was valid and that Israel and Hamas had failed to investigate alleged war crimes satisfactorily. Israel debates response to Gaza report , BBC News 24 October 2009 Britain criticised for opting out of UN vote condemning Israel , The Times 17 October 2009 'Middle East Peace Process Faces Paralysis' , Sky News 18 October 2009 Israel to UN body: Come to your senses on Goldstone Report , Haaretz 1 October 2009 2009 Human Rights Report: Israel and the occupied territories .

Richard Goldstone The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict , also known as the Goldstone Report , was a team established in April 2009 pursuant to Resolution A/HRC/RES/S-9/1 of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) of 12 January 2009, following the Gaza War as an independent international 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 throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory , particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip , due to the current aggression". South African jurist Richard Goldstone was appointed to head the mission. The other co-authors of the Report were Hina Jilani , Christine Chinkin and Desmond Travers . Israel refused to cooperate with the investigation, citing anti-Israel bias in the UNHRC and the mission's one-sided founding resolution. The Goldstone Report accused both the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity . It recommended that each side openly investigate its own conduct, and to bring the allegations to the International Criminal Court if they failed to do so. The government of Israel rejected the report as prejudiced and full of errors, and also sharply rejected the charge that it had a policy of deliberately targeting civilians. The militant Islamic group Hamas initially rejected some of the report's findings, but then urged world powers to embrace it. Goldstone stated that the mission "wasn't an investigation, it was a fact-finding mission" and that the conclusion that war crimes had been committed "was always intended as conditional". He described the allegations as "a useful road map" for independent investigations by Israel and the Palestinians. He later added that the mission did not conduct a judicial investigation, and stated that its findings did not amount to "the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt". He described it as a prima facie case, "reasonable on weighing the evidence" and said that the information obtained would not be admissible as evidence in a criminal court. The controversial report received wide support among countries in the United Nations , while Western countries were split between supporters and opponents of the resolutions endorsing the report. Critics of the report stated that it contained methodological failings, legal and factual errors, and falsehoods, and devoted insufficient attention to the allegations that Hamas was deliberately operating in heavily populated areas of Gaza. On 1 April 2011, Goldstone retracted his claim that it was Israeli government policy to deliberately target citizens, saying "While the investigations published by the Israeli military and recognized in the U.N. committee's report have established the validity of some incidents that we investigated in cases involving individual soldiers, they also indicate that civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy." On 14 April 2011 the three other co-authors of the Report, Hina Jilani , Christine Chinkin and Desmond Travers , released a joint statement criticizing Goldstone's recantation of this aspect of the report. They all agreed that the report was valid and that Israel and Hamas had failed to investigate alleged war crimes satisfactorily.

Team formed in 2009 to investigate human rights violations by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza Not to be confused with United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict . The authors : Goldstone , Jilani , and Chinkin . The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict , also known as the Goldstone Report , was a United Nations fact-finding mission established in April 2009 pursuant to Resolution A/HRC/RES/S-9/1 of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) of 12 January 2009, following the Gaza War as an independent international 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 throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory , particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip , due to the current aggression". South African jurist Richard Goldstone was appointed to head the mission. The other co-authors of the Report were Hina Jilani , Christine Chinkin and Desmond Travers . The Goldstone Report accused both the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity . It recommended that each side openly investigate its own conduct, and to bring the allegations to the International Criminal Court if they failed to do so. The government of Israel rejected the report as prejudiced and full of errors, and also sharply rejected the charge that it had a policy of deliberately targeting civilians. The militant Islamic group Hamas initially rejected some of the report's findings, but then urged world powers to embrace it. Goldstone stated that the mission wasn't a judicial investigation, it was a fact-finding mission; the findings were "reasonable on weighing the evidence" but did not amount to "the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt". The allegations were "a useful road map" for independent investigations by Israel and the Palestinians. The report received wide support among countries in the United Nations , while Western countries were split between supporters and opponents of the resolutions endorsing the report. Critics of the report stated that it contained methodological failings, legal and factual errors, and falsehoods, and devoted insufficient attention to the allegations that Hamas was deliberately operating in heavily populated areas of Gaza. The Report described the three weeks comprising the Gaza War as: a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population, radically diminish its local economic capacity both to work and to provide for itself, and to force upon it an ever increasing sense of dependency and vulnerability. On 1 April 2011, Goldstone stated that recent Israeli investigations indicate that it was not Israeli government policy to deliberately target citizens. On 14 April 2011 the three other co-authors of the Report, Hina Jilani , Christine Chinkin and Desmond Travers , jointly criticizing Goldstone's recantation. They all agreed that the report was valid and that Israel and Hamas had failed to investigate alleged war crimes satisfactorily.