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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| UN Human Rights Council approves probe into Israel's ship raid |
| 2010-06-03 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] The U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution setting up an independent international probe into Israel's interception of Gaza-bound ships. The resolution, which also condemned Israel's "outrageous attack," was adopted after a vote, with 32 countries voting in favor, three against, and eight abstentions. It "decides to dispatch an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian aid and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance." The text also decides to "authorize the president of the council to appoint members of this independent international fact finding system." Israeli commandos boarded one of the aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip in the pre-dawn raid on Monday that left at least nine passengers dead. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists were also arrested. The move sparked global outrage and prompted states from the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to ask for the special session of the 47 member states in the rights council. It also drove Pakistan, Sudan and the Palestinian delegation to propose the resolution during the urgent sitting, during which countries ranging from Laos to Peru to Iceland all spoke out against Israel's move. The United States said it was "deeply disturbed" by the violence but opposed the resolution. U.S. ambassador Eileen Donahoe said the text "rushes to judgment on a set of facts" that were only starting to emerge. "It creates an international mechanism before giving the responsible government the opportunity to investigate the incident itself," she added. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 FOAD |
| Posted by: chris 2010-06-03 10:05 |