Washington,
DC – With Judge Richard Goldstone set to present a widely criticized United
Nations report to the Human Rights Council today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
(D-NY) and her Senate colleagues urged the United States to take action to
block the report from reaching the UN Security Council. In a letter to
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Senators also urged the Obama
administration to denounce any punishment against Israel as a result of the
report’s flawed findings.
The
Senators wrote to Secretary Clinton, “We believe it is critical that the U.S.
continue to work very hard to block any punitive actions against Israel that
this report mentions, whether at the Security Council or other U.N.
bodies. The loss of innocent lives is unfortunate wherever it occurs – in
Israel or in Gaza. But this biased report ignores many of the key facts,
and this should be recognized by the international community… As the United
Nations Human Rights Council moves toward a resolution on the Goldstone report,
we trust you and your team will denounce the unbalanced nature of this
investigation.”
Senator
Gillibrand said, “The UN report charging Israel with war crimes is misleading
and unacceptable. These findings should not be used as ammunition against a
nation that has been forced to protect its families and children from Hamas
attacks. Legitimizing the report sends a dangerous message to countries
defending themselves against terrorism. I applaud the State Department for
expressing deep concerns and urge the Administration to use its voting power
and leverage to ensure that Israel is treated fairly at the UN.”
On
September 15, the UN Human Rights Council released a 575 page report overseen
by Judge Richard Goldstone which accused Israel of committing war crimes during
last winter’s war in Gaza. Israel took military action in Gaza in direct
response to nearly a decade of rocket attacks by Hamas. The United States Ambassador
to the United Nations, Susan Rice has denounced the report calling it an
“unbalanced, one-sided and unacceptable” mandate.
By
October 2, 47 members of the Human Rights Council will decide whether or not
the report will be referred to the Security Council, a group which holds the
power to authorize an international investigation. The United States began its
term as a member of the Human Rights Council in May.
The
Senators cited four key failures to the UN report, including the report’s
failure to recognize Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism and
omission of the fact that Israeli soldiers went to great lengths to avoid
civilian casualties.
The
letter was co-signed by Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Charles Schumer (D-NY),
Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Carl Levin (D-MI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Joe Lieberman
(I-CT), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), James Risch
(R-ID), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Mark Begich (D-AK), Benjamin
Cardin (D-MD), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Byron Dorgan (D-ND),
John Ensign (R-NV), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Tim Johnson
(D-SD), David Vitter (D-ND), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Russ
Feingold (D-WI), Dan Inouye(D-HI), John McCain (R-AZ), Arlen Specter (D-PA),
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), John Thune (R-SD), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
The
full text of the letter is below:
September
29, 2009
The
Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary
of State
United
States Department of State
2201
C Street NW
Washington,
DC 20520
Dear
Madam Secretary,
We
appreciate the State Department publicly raising significant concerns about the
United Nations Fact-Finding Mission led by Justice Richard Goldstone. We
believe it is critical that the U.S. continue to work very hard to block any
punitive actions against Israel that this report mentions, whether at the
Security Council or other U.N. bodies. The loss of innocent lives is
unfortunate wherever it occurs – in Israel or in Gaza. But this biased
report ignores many of the key facts, and this should be recognized by the
international community.
We
commend the State Department statements criticizing the one-sided mandate
directing the Goldstone report and highlighting the real causes of the war
between Israel and Hamas. In particular, we are gratified that the
Department has very serious concerns about the report’s recommendations,
including calls that this issue be taken up in international fora outside the
Human Rights Council and in national courts of countries not party to the
conflict. As the United Nations Human Rights Council moves toward a
resolution on the Goldstone report, we trust you and your team will denounce
the unbalanced nature of this investigation.
There
are many serious flaws with the Goldstone report and the investigatory process.
The Goldstone mission’s mandate was problematic from the start. The fact
that the mission exceeded this mandate by also criticizing some of Hamas’
activities does not diminish the problem that the vast majority of the report
focuses on Israel’s conduct, rather than that of Hamas. The report
further fails to acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism
and other external threats, a right of all UN Members under Article 51 of the
UN Charter. The report ignores the fact that Israel acted in self-defense
only after its civilian population suffered eight years of attacks by rockets
and mortars fired indiscriminately from Gaza. Furthermore, the report
does not adequately recognize the extraordinary measures taken by the Israel
Defense Forces to minimize civilian casualties, which frequently put Israeli
soldiers at risk.
As
the State Department has stated, Israel is a democratic country, like the
United States, with an independent judiciary and democratic institutions to
investigate and prosecute abuses. The Israel Defense Forces have a reputation
for investigating alleged violations of international law and its internal
military code of conduct. As a law-abiding state, Israel is in the
process of conducting numerous investigations for which it should be commended
not condemned.
We
hope you will succeed in your efforts to ensure that consideration of the
report at the current meetings of the UN Human Rights Council will not provide
an opportunity for Israel’s critics to unfairly use the Council and the report
to bring this matter to the UN Security Council.