United Nations Announces Panel to Probe War Crimes Allegations in Gaza

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Managing Editor

Gaza City, Gaza – The United Nations Human Right Council has named three experts to an international commission of inquiry into possible human rights violations and war crimes committed by both the Israeli government and Hamas during Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The U.N. statement announcing the formation of the panel said the independent team will investigate “all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law” in the context of the military operations that have been conducted since 13 June 2014.

The Untied Nations has appointed a panel of experts to report on alleged war crimes committed in Gaza during Israel’s military offence against Hamas. the panel is to report to the Untied Nations Human Rights council by March 2015. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

William Schabas, a Canadian professor of international law was appointed to lead the panel. Critics have called Schabas anti-Israel and have complained that his leadership may lead to a bias investigation. Schabas has reportedly made several statements criticizing Israel leadership in the past and once declared, “My favorite would be Netanyahu within the dock of the International Criminal Court.” However, Schabas has written off critics saying that any suggestion that he is somehow anti-Israel is absurd. He said, “I have opinions like everybody else about the situation in Israel,” he said. “They may not be the same as Hillel Neurer’s [head of the Geneva based group U.N. Watch] or Benjamin Netanyahu’s, that’s all.”

The other members of the panel included Doudou Diene, a Senegalese veteran U.N. human rights expert and Amal Alamuddin, a British-Lebanese lawyer engaged to actor George Clooney. However, Alamuddin has denied that she would participate in the inquiry and it is not yet known who will replace her.

Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on July 31 that she believed that the Israel government was deliberately defying international law in its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza. She also said that she believes world powers should hold Israel accountable for these violations.

So far the Israeli military has attacked schools, hospitals and homes as well as Gaza’s only power plan, which provides critical energy to the regions civilian population. Hamas militants in Gaza have also violated human rights by firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel territory, Pillay said.

The Israel government has dismissed the inquiry led by the Human Rights Council as a “kangaroo court.” In a statement, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor issued a statement dismissing the UN inquiry. He stated that in the view of the Israeli government the “the Human Rights Council had long ago turned into the ‘terrorist rights council’ and a kangaroo court, whose ‘investigations’ are pre-determined.”

Hamas Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri in Gaza said that “Hamas welcomes the decision to form an investigation committee into the war crimes committed by the occupation against Gaza and it urges that it begin work as soon as possible.”

The armed-conflict in Gaza has killed 1,938A Palestinians and 67 Israelis and has devastated large tracks in the densely populated Gaza Strip, damaging civilian property and leaving thousands of Palestinian Civilians displaced.

For more information please see:

The New York Times – Israel Braces For War Crimes Inquiries on Gaza – 14 August 2014

Al Jazeera – UN Names Gaza War Crimes Probe Panel – 12 August 2014

Israel National News – UN Gaza Probe Head: Me? Anti-Israel? – 12 August 2014

Reuters – U.N. Names Panel To Probe War Crimes in Gaza; Israel Slams It – 12 August 2014

Growing Concerns Over ISIS Lead France to Question Whether European Involvement is Necessary

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

PARIS, France – The United States began a series of airstrikes in Iraq this week in an attempt to assist resistance against the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (“ISIS”), leading Europe to question whether to get involved, and if so, how involvement should be done.

An ISIS soldier holds up an ISIL flag. (Photo courtesy of the Christian Post)

On Monday, France called a meeting of European Union foreign affairs in order to determine what should be done about the Middle East. ISIS is spreading and growing at a rapid pace, and European nations are worried that if left alone, turmoil in the Middle East could become a global threat. ISIS fighting has already spread throughout the nations of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and has caused massive disturbances.

The fears of a possible Christian genocide by ISIS has led to a huge fleeing of Christians from the region, leaving areas like Mosul completely free of Christians. In an attempt to mitigate the number of Christians killed, France has helped facilitate asylum for those in Iraq fleeing ISIS.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius believes that the way to counter ISIS is to give the Kurds in Iraq “equipment that will allow them to defend themselves and to counterattack.” Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini further said the goal is “providing support, even of a military sort, to the Kurdish government.”

One problem, however, is that France is already committed militarily to Africa. France further believes that the United States is better suited to fight ISIS in Iraq and help support the Kurds. France, on the other hand, is better suited to support Lebanon in the fight against ISIS, as France has close ties with the Lebanese army and trains Lebanese officers. It is also believed that weapons held by the Lebanese army would be less likely to fall into the hands of the enemy.

After allowing the fight in Syria to develop over three years into the large catastrophe that it is now, concerns loom over whether an early intervention now is necessary to prevent a larger ordeal in the future with ISIS. However, NATO has recently declared it a “high probability” that Russia will militarily intervene in Eastern Ukraine under the guise of a “humanitarian aid.” 45,000 Russian troops are currently aligned on the joint border with Ukraine, having amassed as Kiev pushes further east and nears the larger pro-Russian held cities like Donetsk. With a possible invasion of a European nation looking more and more possible by the day, the EU will certainly be cautious to invest militarily to any outside conflicts just in case help is needed at home.

For more information, please see:

Arab News – France asks EU to arm Kurds in Iraq – 12 August 2014

Vice News – Europe Is Still Pondering What to Do in Iraq – 11 August 2014

Reuters – Russia sending aid convoy to Ukraine despite Western warnings of ‘invasion pretext’ – 11 August 2014

France 24 – French military effort against ISIS ‘should focus on Lebanon’ – 11 August 2014

France 24 – Iraq’s fleeing Christians rebuild shattered lives in France – 10 August 2014

Ferguson, Missouri Protests Infringe on Constitutional Rights

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – On the fourth night proceeding the fatal shooting of a Missouri teenager, Michael Brown, what community members considered mostly peaceful protests were met with extreme police violence. The protests began after Brown was shot and killed by a local police officer.

SWAT teams prepare to disperse large crowds of protestors in Ferguson, Missouri (Photo courtesy of The Huffington Post).

The police violence came in the form of tear gas, rubber bullets, heavily armed SWAT teams and mine-resistant vehicles. Reports indicate that the police force zeroed in on a mostly peaceful protest in Ferguson, Missouri, where protesters were seen symbolically holding their hands in the air, the same gesture Brown was believed to be doing when he was shot by an unidentified officer. In an effort to disperse the crowd of protestors, a group of at least 70 armed SWAT officers fired smoke bombs so regularly that it made it difficult to breath.

The racially charged protests in Ferguson, which have resulted in a military-style police crackdown, resulted in the arrests of numerous demonstrators and at least two journalists. A news crew from the TV network Al Jazeera America reported that tear gas and rubber bullets were fired in the proximity of the crew, and later released a statement expressing the incident’s impact on constitutional rights, “Al Jazeera is stunned by this egregious assault on freedom of the press that was clearly intended to have a chilling effect on our ability to cover this important story.”

President Barack Obama made his first statement regarding the protests on Thursday, 14 August, condemning the violent tactics used on both sides of the ongoing protests. Obama acknowledged the constitutional issues with the police crackdown, stating, “There’s…no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protestors in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights,” he continued by stating, ”Here in the United States of America, police should not be bullying or arresting journalists who are just trying to do their jobs and report to the American people on what they see….”  The President also acknowledged that those demonstrators whom engaged in violence against the police, specifically those who were said to have thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails, and used this time of unrest as an excuse for violence, vandalism, and looting were equally as wrong as the police.

Obama concluded by calling for a calm in Ferguson, Missouri, saying that now is not the time for unrest, instead it is time for an, “open and transparent process to make sure that justice is done.”

 

For more information, please see the following: 

BUSINESS INSIDER –  Obama: There’s ‘No Excuse’ For Police To Use Excessive Force In Ferguson – 14 August 2014.

HUFFINGTON POST – Obama On Ferguson: ‘ No Excuse For Police To Use Excessive Force – 14 August 2014.

HUFFINGTON POST – Ferguson Protests Met With Heavy Police Response, 2 Reporters And Alderman Arrested – 14 August 2014.

NBC NEWS – “No Excuse’: Obama Expressed Concern About Violence In Missouri – 14 August 2014.

Eduardo Campos, Brazilian Presidential Candidate, Reportedly Dies in Plane Crash

By: Delisa Morris

News Reporter, South America

Eduardo Campos, Brazilian presidential candidate, was reportedly aboard a plane that crashed in Brazil today.  Campos, 49, was a front – runner for the Brazilian presidency.  The plane crashed in the coastal town of Santos, São Paulo.

Eduardo Campos, Brazilian Presidential Candidate, Dies in Plane Crash at 49. Photo Credit: psbrs.org

Campos, was the leader of the Brazilian Socialist Party and was reportedly out of contact with his team since 9:30 a.m.  According to witnesses, the plane crashed into three homes in Santos on the coast of São Paulo around 10 a.m.  First responders report that there were at least ten casualties.

Representative Julio Delgado said “[w]e’re stunned.  It seems that there are no survivors.  It seems we have lost Eduardo.  Eduardo could not land, there are no survivors in the aircraft.  It’s an irreparable loss.”

Brazilian air authorities report that the downed plane was a Cessna 560XL.  The plane had been flying from Rio de Janeiro to Guarajá in São Paulo state.  In bad weather, the plane prepared to land in São Paulo when air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft.

The Brazilian Air Force released a statement.  “The Air Force Command reports that on Wednesday, around 10am, an aircraft Cessna 560XL, prefix PR-AFA, crashed in the city of Santos on the coast of São Paulo.

“The aircraft took off from Santos Dumon Airport in Rio de Janeiro, bound for the airport Guarajá (SP).

“When preparing for landing, the plan lunged due to bad weather.  Then, the air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft.

“The Air Force has initiated investigations to determine the factors that may have contributed to the accident.”

Campos was formerly a governor of the north-eastern state of Pernambuco.  Campos was one of three forerunners in the presidential election in Brazil.

The election is due to take place in October 2014.

The most recent polls put Campos third behind incumbent Dilma Rousseff, with 38 percent, and Aecio Neves, of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party.

Walter Feldman, a former representative, told Brazilian reporters he had spoken with the politician who was expecting to receive Campos.  He said “Márcio França called and said it was confirmed that the prefix of the plane is Campos’s.”

Marina Silva, Campos’s running partner, was reportedly not on board the flight.

For more information, please see:

The Telegraph – Brazilian presidentail candidate Eduardo Campos’ plane thought to hae crashed in Sao Paulo state – 13 August 2014

Bloomberg – Brazil Presidential Candidate Campos Reported Dead in Crash  – 13 August 2014

BBC News – Brazil presidential candidate Campos in plane crash – 13 August 2014

ABC News –Local Officials Say Brazilian Presidential Candidate Eduardo Campos Has Died in a Plane Crash – 13 August 2014

War Crimes Prosecution Watch Volume 09 – Issue 10 August 11, 2014

Case School of Law Logo
FREDERICK K. COX
INTERNATIONAL LAW CENTER

Founder/Advisor
Michael P. Scharf
War Crimes Prosecution Watch
Volume 09 – Issue 10
August 11, 2014
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Editor in Chief
Peter Beardsley

Managing Editors
Emily Gibbons
Madeline Jack

Senior Technical Editor
Morgan Kearse

War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email warcrimeswatch@pilpg.org and type “subscribe” in the subject line.

Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group.

Contents

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Central African Republic & Uganda

Libya

Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Iraqi High Tribunal

Syria

Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal

War Crimes Investigations in Burma

NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA

United States

South & Central America

Argentina

Colombia

Guatemala

TOPICS

Terrorism

Piracy

Gender-Based Violence

REPORTS

UN Reports

Asylum

COMMENTARY AND PERSPECTIVES