BAN OUTLINES STEPS TO TURN PROMISE OF ‘RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT’ INTO PRACTICE

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today outlined a series of measures designed to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and related crimes against humanity, stressing "it is high time to turn the promise of the responsibility to protect into practice."

Agreed to by world leaders in 2005, the 'responsibility to protect' – sometimes known as 'R2P' – holds States responsible for shielding their own populations from genocide and other major human rights abuses and requires the international community to step in if this obligation is not met.

"This universal and irrevocable commitment was made at the highest level, without contradiction or challenge. Our common task now is to deliver on this historic pledge to the peoples of the world," Mr. Ban told the General Assembly, as he presented his latest report on the issue.

The proposals contained in the report, which the 192-member Assembly will consider tomorrow, rest on three pillars: State responsibility; international assistance and capacity-building; and timely and decisive response.

"First, the report seeks to situate the responsibility to protect squarely under the UN's roof and within our Charter, where it belongs," said Mr. Ban. "By developing fully UN strategies, standards, and processes for implementing the responsibility to protect, we can discourage States or groups of States from misusing these principles for inappropriate purposes."

The report also asserts that prevention should be "job number one," and offers a "balanced and nuanced" approach to prevention and protection that utilizes the full inventory of tools available to the UN and its partners, he stated.

In addition, the report proposes engaging Member States in a discussion about how to sharpen UN capacities for early warning and assessment. "When prevention fails, the United Nations needs to pursue an early and flexible response tailored to the circumstances of each case," said the Secretary-General. "Military action is a measure of last, not first, resort and should only be undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the Charter."

Lastly, the report seeks to encourage each of the UN's principal organs to play its distinct and appropriate role under the Charter in developing and implementing the responsibility to protect.

Mr. Ban asked States to let the Assembly do what it does best: to provide the venue for a continuing search for common ground on a multilateral strategy to protect the world's people from what he described as "massive affronts to human dignity."

He also urged that the victims of such atrocities and crimes, who number in the millions, not be forgotten. "Those losses have permanently stained the history of the 20th century. Together, in this century, we can chart a different course," he stated.

"Never forget, too, the complacency and cynicism that often prevented this Organization from acting as early or as effectively as it should have," he added. "Our publics judged us then, and found us wanting. They will be watching again this week, and they will – rightfully – judge us harshly if we treat these deliberations as politics as usual."
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UN TEAM PROBING RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN GAZA CONFLICT WRAPS UP FIRST MEETING

UN TEAM PROBING RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN GAZA CONFLICT WRAPS UP FIRST MEETING
New York, May 8 2009 12:00PM
Members of the fact-finding mission set up by the United Nations Human Rights Council to probe rights violations during the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip wrapped up a week-long meeting in Geneva today.

The four-person team is led by the former prosecutor for International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Richard Goldstone of South Africa, who stressed the law-based approach the mission will take in preparing its report to the Geneva-based Council.

"I would like to emphasise that we will focus our investigation not on political considerations, but on an objective and impartial analysis of compliance of the parties to the conflict with their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, especially their responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians and non-combatants," he stated.

"I believe that an objective assessment of
the issues is in the interests of all parties, will promote a culture of accountability and could serve to promote greater peace and security in the region."

During their week-long session, the team held initial meetings with a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including Member States and representatives of the UN and non-governmental organizations. It also established terms of reference and a three-month programme of work.

The mission intends to conduct visits to affected areas of Southern Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza, and has requested the cooperation of the Government of Israel in this regard, according to a news release.

The other members of the team include Christine Chinkin, Professor of International Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science at the University of London; Hina Jilani, Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders; and Colon
el (retired from the Irish Armed Forces) Desmond Travers, member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI).

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UN REPORT HIGHLIGHTS ‘SHRINKING SPACE’ FOR PALESTINIANS IN BETHLEHEM

UN REPORT HIGHLIGHTS 'SHRINKING SPACE' FOR PALESTINIANS IN BETHLEHEM
New York, May 7 2009 4:00PM
Israeli measures have reduced the amount of land available in Bethlehem for Palestinian use, limited the area's access to resources and restricted its potential for development, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) says in a new report.

"Shrinking Space: Urban Contraction and Rural Fragmentation in the Bethlehem Governorate," examines how Israeli measures – such as the Barrier, settlements and closures – have impacted Palestinian livelihoods, development and residential expansion in Bethlehem, which comprises approximately 660 kilometres.

"The space available to the Palestinian population in the Bethlehem governorate has been significantly constricted by Israeli measures such as the continued expansion of Israeli settlements and their outposts," states the <"http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_bethlehem_shrinking_space_may_2009_english.pdf">report.

These measures have reduced Bethlehem's development space, limited its access to resources, severed Bethlehem's historic links to Jerusalem and restricted the urban area's potential for residential and industrial expansion, it adds.

The report notes that the traditional mainstays of the Bethlehem economy such as work in Israel, tourism, agriculture herding and the private sector have been undermined.

Only 13 per cent of land in Bethlehem is available for Palestinian use, and much of it is fragmented, the report shows. In addition, Israel retains security control and jurisdiction over building and planning in 66 per cent of the governorate.

Also, the Barrier route in Bethlehem reaches 10 kilometres into the West Bank. If completed, it will cut off some of the most fertile cultivated land in the governorate as well as 21,000 Palestinian villagers from the urban centre, according to the report.

As of now, the report says, around 175,000 Palestinians live in the Bethlehem governorate. Since 1967, some 86,000 Israelis have also been settled there, and they live in 19 settlements and 16 settlement outposts.

OCHA also outlines steps that can be taken to prevent further deterioration, including halting construction of the Barrier inside the West Bank, opening closed military areas and nature reserves for sustainable Palestinian development, and freezing settlement construction.
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