Amnesty calls on UN to act on Goldstone report

London, 09 Oct-(ANA)-Amnesty International has called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to refer the Goldstone report on the Gaza conflict to the Security Council without delay.

In a statement to the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Amnesty expressed regret that the council had taken a decision to defer a vote on the Goldstone report until March 2010.

It said the deferral indicated a lack of political will to deal robustly with issues of accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Gaza and southern Israel.

The report of Judge Richard Goldstone had looked into  violations of international law that occurred during the conflict in Gaza and southern Israel between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009.

Amnesty says it has serious concerns about the ability and the willingness of both the Israeli government and the Hamas administration to carry out credible investigations into violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. 

To prevent impunity, it is vital that all domestic investigations are closely scrutinized by the international community through the relevant UN bodies and that concrete steps are taken to pursue accountability through international mechanisms if internal means prove inadequate.(ANA)

FA/ANA/09 October 2009---