PACE mum as the world stands agape over Israeli atrocities in Gaza

The Parliamentary Council of Europe (PACE) mum as the world stands agape over Israeli atrocities in Gaza

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By Edward Campbell

MISSOULA, MT Jan. 30 (Al-Masakin)—The world is holding its breath awaiting comment by The Parliamentary Council of Europe (PACE) on the recent war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Though the Council placed Gaza on its Agenda to be debated Jan. 29, and acknowledged yesterday that such a debate had taken place, the official news center for the organization has not as yet disclosed the results of that discussion besides releasing a startlingly laconic statement on Thursday which said little more than:

“PACE can offer its political know-how to try to ease daily life for the populations of the two parties in conflict,” said Göran Lindblad (Sweden, EPP/CD) in Strasbourg today, opening a current affairs debate on the situation in Gaza. He highlighted the need for a change of attitude by the two parties to try to work out a just and lasting peace, including “recognition of secure borders”. As rapporteur, he said the Parliamentary Assembly’s Sub-Committee on the Middle East would pursue its efforts in support of the peace process.

Whereas PACE made it clear on Jan. 27 that it seeks expanded powers of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and resoundingly condemned the ‘climate of impunity’ surrounding murders of several members of the Press and human rights activists in the Russian Federation, including the Jan. 19 assassination of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Indy journalist for Novaya Gazeta Anastasiya Baburova, the body has remained silent on Israeli attacks on the media during the recent Gaza assault in which four journalist were murdered, two detained, and, among other things, the Reuters Bureau and the NBC headquarters were assaulted, all of which caused the International News Safety Institute (INSI) to publish a Jan. 15 ‘News Safety Alert for Gaza,’ and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) along with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to roundly declare that Israel was deliberately targeting the media.

This is of course to pass over the grim statistics of those killed and injured, the assaults on at least 27 Muslim houses of worship, and the use of banned weapons on civilians such as White Phosphorus, Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME), Depleted Uranium, dart weapons, and more.

Whereas PACE appears to be so committed to the theory of Universal Jurisdiction unto the prosecution of those who have targeted media personnel elsewhere, it stands to reason that the Council should now take the lead in demanding War Crimes trials for a number of Israeli officials.

EHC/EHC
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Al-Masakin News Agency
http://almasakinnewsagency.wordpress.com/

Parliamentary Council of Europe (PACE) calls for greater cooperation with the ICC

Parliamentary Council of Europe (PACE) calls for greater cooperation with the ICC, ‘the vigorous prosecution of crimes against journalists and political activists,’ and for America to ratify the ICC’s Rome Statute

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STRASBOURG, France, Jan. 27 (PACE)—Parliamentary Council of Europe (PACE) called for a greater role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) during it Winter Session in Strasbourg today and, among other things, adopted a resolution calling for investigation of crimes allegedly committed by high officials during the Kuchma rule in Ukraine, specifically the murder of Ukrainian journalist murdered in the year 2000, Georgiy Gongadze, case as an emblematic example.

In the of resolution 1645 adopted on Tuesday the Council said, inter alia, that it “stresses the importance it attaches to the safety of journalists and political activists, especially those linked to opposition groups, in all member states of the Council of Europe.

“Crimes against journalists and political activists must be investigated by the competent authorities as a matter of priority, without political interference. The authorities must strive to identify not only the actual perpetrators of these crimes but also their instigators and organisers, without regard to the rank and position of the suspects.”

In a separate resolution 1856, adopted today, the Council affirmed, “It invites the Committee of Ministers to continue to follow closely the implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human

Rights in the Gongadze case and to ensure, in cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities, that all necessary investigative measures are speedily carried out, including: the vigorous pursuit of the authentification of the so-called “Melnychenko recordings,” with the participation of foreign experts; the pursuit of other available methods of establishing the authenticity of these recordings, such as the interrogation as witnesses of persons whose voice was allegedly recorded, and comparisons between discussions allegedly recorded and actual events.”

The resolution went on to demand justice in the cases of Georgy Gongadze, General Pukach, Yuriy Kravchenko.

In other news related to the PACE Winter Session, Jan. 26-30, Swiss politician Dick Marty called on the United States to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which aims to punish those who commit genocide, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity.

“The new American administration wishes to break with the past and return to the path of the rule of law,” said Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), former PACE rapporteur on the illegal transfer of detainees and secret detentions in Europe, at a press conference today in Strasbourg.

“Some European governments would be well advised to tell the truth before the Washington Post or the New York Times reveal it,” he added. Mr Marty made an urgent appeal to Council of Europe member states to follow the example of Switzerland and Portugal, the only countries that have indicated their willingness to accept prisoners from Guantanamo due to be freed by the United States. Mr. Marty also said that he sincerely hoped that the way the UN Security Council and the EU managed their terrorist “blacklists” would be revised to bring them into line with the basic standards of a country governed by the rule of law.

Lastly, he called on the United States to ratify the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court promptly, “as the ICC will only function properly if all major states take part.”

The United States adheres to the American Service-Members Protection Act in 2002, an act which has been called the “Hague Invasion Act” by employees of the ICC because the United States, through this document, promises to invade Holland if any American government officials or service members are ever indicted there. The the American Service-Members Protection Act authorizes the President to use “all means necessary and appropriate” to bring about the release from captivity of U.S. or Allied personnel detained or imprisoned against their will by or on behalf of the ICC.
Although the United States supports the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY, 1993); US law specifically prohibits any United States Court or any government agency from cooperating with the ICC (1998).

The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) also deplored the ‘climate of impunity’ in the Chechen Republic citing the recent assassinations of Human Rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and freelance Indy reporter Anastasiya Baburova in broad daylight in Moscow Jan. 19, only a few yards from the Kremlin, and Chechen refugee Umar Israilov in Vienna Jan. 13.

The Council adopted the following statement this morning.

“Following the recent spate of murders and disappearances of a lawyer, a journalist, a witness and other critics of, in particular, the regime of the President of the Chechen Republic, the committee urges the competent authorities in Moscow and Vienna to carry out full inquiries and to prosecute the killers as well as the instigators and organizers of these crimes.

Stanislav Markelov, gunned down in Moscow on [19] January 2009, was a courageous human rights lawyer. He represented, inter alia, the injured parties in the cases of Colonel Yuri Budanov, Sergey Lapin (a policeman found guilty of torture), Mokhmadsalakh Masayev (who disappeared in Chechnya in the summer of 2008 after accusing the Chechen authorities of having subjected him to secret detention and torture) as well as several victims of members of fascist groups.

Anastasiya Baburova, who died shortly after being shot alongside Stanislav Markelov, was a young journalist with Novaya Gazeta, who had reported on Markelov’s work.

Umar Israilov, a Chechen refugee who was murdered on 13 January 2009 in Vienna, had made an application to the European Court of Human Rights, in which he accused Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov of being personally involved in serious human rights violations, including torture.

The committee deplores the climate of impunity which reigns in the Chechen Republic, which the Assembly has highlighted in several reports on the human rights situation in this region (Docs. 10774 and AS/Jur (2008) 21). It is concerned that this is now spilling over beyond the borders of the North Caucasus region, threatening outspoken journalists, lawyers and others in Moscow and even in other countries in which they have been granted asylum.

In a series of recent judgments, the European Court of Human Rights held the Russian Federation responsible for a large number of enforced disappearances, arbitrary killings and torture in Chechnya, stressing the absence of any meaningful investigations of these crimes by the competent authorities.
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These judgments, and the fresh cases above, urgently require a clear signal from the highest authorities of the Russian state to the effect that perpetrators of such serious human rights violations shall be punished in accordance with the law. The recent pardon of Colonel Yuri Budanov, condemned after several scandal-ridden trials to 10 years in prison in July 2004 for murdering a Chechen girl, and who has become a popular hero to ultra-nationalist and fascist groups in Russia, sends the wrong signal.”

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Al-Masakin News Agency
http://almasakinnewsagency.wordpress.com/

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) affirms UNSC resolution on Gaza

PACE Bureau calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

 

Strasbourg, 09.01.2009 – The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) meeting in Barcelona, today adopted the following statement:

“The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe fully supports the resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 8 January 2009. It calls for an immediate ceasefire to be respected by all sides.

Both sides must understand that violence, destruction and death will only lead to more violence and death. Our Assembly, which has always stood for peace and human rights, cannot accept the deadly escalation of the last days. The only solution is a political one: establishing a durable ceasefire, dialogue and negotiation. The immediate objective should be to create conditions in which the blockade of Gaza can be lifted.

Humanitarian aid must have full and unimpeded access into the Gaza strip. The immense suffering and deprivation of the civilian population must end. It is vital to get food and medical supplies to alleviate the desperate humanitarian situation of the civilian population and to ensure hospitals are able to function properly. 

Israel’s refusal to allow international journalists into Gaza is not in conformity with the democratic values it shares with the Council of Europe. Freedom of information in the media is an essential requirement of democracy. Where this is lacking, the democratic deficit is severe. 

The Bureau recalls the presence of Israeli parliamentary observers and Palestinian parliamentarians at Assembly Part-Sessions and their participation in the Assembly Tripartite Forum on issues of common concern for the region. Our Assembly stands ready to co-operate with both sides to provide conditions that will facilitate a peaceful solution if they have the political will to do so.

Moreover, the Bureau decides to propose to the Assembly to hold a debate on the issue at the next plenary part session (Strasbourg, 26-30 January 2009) and to invite Israeli and Palestinian representatives to take part.