Canada Votes Against UN Human Rights Council Gaza Report
September 25, 2008 – 2:59 pmWhile all eyes were on the opening of the UN’s General Assembly in New York, on Sept. 24, 2008, Canada voted against a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution affirming the report and recommendations of the UN fact-finding mission dispatched to Gaza to investigate the November 2006 Beit Hanoun incident. Israel refused to cooperate with the mission, headed by Desmond Tutu, and denied it entry due to the biased scope of, and terms of reference for its mandate. The one-sided report ultimately produced by the mission concludes “that there is a possibility that the shelling of Beit Hanoun constitutes a war crime.”
Needless to say, the group did not hold Palestinians, Hamas (the de facto rulers of Gaza) or the Palestinian Authority to a similar standard regarding the unremitting rocket attacks on Israeli civilian population in the South. In a gratuitous punchline, Tutu concluded the report by opining that “the occupation remains the root cause of the bleak situation.”
In November 2006, Canada voted against the initial resolution that authorized the fact-finding mission, due to its prejudiced mandate. Not unexpectedly, today Canada dismissed the flawed conclusions and recommendations that flowed from the report. Unfortunately, while the European Union also refused to support today’s resolution, due to the structural bias of the UNHRC, it passed with 32 votes in favour, 9 against, and 5 abstentions.
Click here for a video of Canada’s Explanation of Vote (Real Player format, 2 MB)
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