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U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Calls For International Observers In Middle East
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) - Following an eight-day trip to the region, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights filed a report to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan expressing shock towards the gravity of the situation in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
“The thrust of the report is urgently calling international attention to the bleak human rights situation in the occupied territories, the need for an international monitoring presence...and the need for measures to be taken to reduce the terrible violence,” said Mary Robinson in her news conference in Geneva on Sunday.
She expressed her shock to the mounting toll of Palestinian deaths as a result of Israeli clampdowns on the civilian population and asked for limited use control measures, for use in severe circumstances only, and added that the principle of proportionality should be applied when handling the situations.
“The civilian population feels besieged by a stronger power prepared to use its superior force against demonstrations and stone throwing by adolescents,” she said.
Robinson called for the Israeli army to “withdraw from some of their forward positions” and lower their military profile generally in the territories, which she said could help break the cycle of violence.
She said it was also clear the existence of settlements in highly-populated areas is evoking “very serious reaction”.
“From a human rights perspective, it seemed to me that this was a seriously aggravating factor that was leading to flashpoints and resulting in the loss of life and permanent disablement of young people, in particular from the occupied territories,” she added.
“The construction of new settlements should cease and those located in the midst of heavily populated Palestinian areas should be removed,” she added.
“As well as protecting settlers, Israeli security forces should also protect Palestinians from violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers.”
Robinson said that during her “very frank” meetings with senior Israeli Defense Force officers, she had raised the possibility of deploying an international monitoring or protection force in the territories.
Though she said Israeli officials were opposed to internationalization of the situation, she added that she had an impression that the proposition is not totally ruled out.
Her trip included visits to the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Egypt, and Israel
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