The Duck Shoot blog supports the Amnesty International campaign for accountability for the war crimes we witnessed in Gaza. Amnesty members and supporters took action by writing and emailing their own governments to support the UN resolution. Here’s an email I received from Kristyan Benedict the campaign manager.
Dear Supporter,
Thanks again for taking action on behalf of the victims of the Gaza Conflict. I’m sorry it’s taken a while to get this update out to you – but once again we have good news to share.
Earlier this month, we saw the biggest break-through yet in the campaign for justice and accountability. As you may have seen in the news, the UN General Assembly voted hugely in favour to endorse the Goldstone Report. This is vitally important for ensuring that those, on both sides, who committed war crimes and other violations of international law will now be held to account.
We had hoped for a positive vote but couldn’t have predicted just how many states would stand up to break the cycle of impunity that has for so long obstructed efforts for peace and justice between Israelis and Palestinians. Just 18 countries voted against the resolution, while 44 (including the UK) abstained – a massive 114 states voted in favour.
The resolution calls on the UN Secretary-General to refer Judge Goldstone’s report to the Security Council, which – crucially – has the power to bring the case to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The Israeli authorities and Hamas are now under real international pressure to comply by conducting credible, independent investigations during the next three months.
We’re another step closer to securing justice and accountability for the victims of the Gaza Conflict – and this strong message from the UN that war criminals cannot get away with murder will also act as a deterrent for future conflicts. Good news indeed.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
 |
Kristyan Benedict
Campaign Manager
Crisis Response & Country Priorities
Background to this campaign
During the 22-day conflict from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, some 1,400 Palestinians and nine Israelis were killed. Most of the Palestinians killed by Israeli forces were unarmed civilians, including some 300 children. Indiscriminate Palestinian rocket attacks killed three Israeli civilians and six soldiers. The Goldstone Report, published in September, echoed many of the findings of Amnesty’s own investigation. Read more here.
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