LONDON: A group of the world’s most experienced judges and human rights investigators called yesterday for a full international investigation into alleged abuses of international law in the Gaza conflict.
In an open letter supported by Amnesty International, they stress the need for an investigation into “all serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by all parties to the conflict.” The letter argues that the UN investigation “should not be limited only to attacks on UN facilities.”
The signatories — who have led investigations of crimes committed in former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Darfur, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, East Timor, Lebanon and Peru — say they were “shocked to the core” by the events in Gaza.
They argue they “have seen at first hand the importance of investigating the truth and delivering justice for the victims of conflict and believe it is a precondition to move forward and achieve peace in the Middle East.”
And they call on world leaders “to send an unfaltering signal that the targeting of civilians during conflict is unacceptable by any party on any count.”
The signatories include Richard Goldstone, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, and Antonio Cassese, the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and head of the UN Inquiry on Darfur. Gaza medics said more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed and much of the infrastructure in the coastal strip has been left in ruins.
