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By Kate Millar GENEVA (AFP) - The United Nations top human rights body sought agreement Wednesday on how to respond to Israeli-Palestinian violence, as Arab and Muslim states pressed for an international inquiry.
The U.N. Human Rights Commission was examining a draft resolution, sponsored by Arab and Muslim states, calling for an international commission of inquiry into the clashes that have left over 100 dead, mostly Palestinians. But the draft in its current form is unlikely to find a consensus, sources said. France's Ambassador Philippe Petit, addressing the Commission on behalf of the European Union, stressed on Wednesday the need for an "effort of synthesis" at the U.N. Commission to find a common stance. He also said the EU condemned the use of disproportionate and indiscriminate force and highlighted the need for the U.N. body to not harm efforts underway to bring about peace. "It is in this frame of mind that we want to work with all the interested parties to contribute to the de-escalation and re-find the road to peace," the ambassador told the session.
The draft resolution put forward by Arab and Muslim states made no mention of the outcome of the summit. Discussions among the Commission's 53 members are expected to go on through Wednesday and into Thursday at the special session, only the fifth of its kind in the U.N. body's history. It could end with a vote. Arab and Muslim countries want the Commission to strongly condemn the "disproportionate use of force" by Israeli forces during the recent outbreak of violence in which over 100 people, mostly Palestinians, have died. They also want it to express grave concern over the "widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights" by Israel, including mass killings and collective punishments. Clashes, which erupted across the West Bank and Gaza Strip three weeks ago, continued Wednesday despite the Sharm el-Sheikh deal, with some 25 Palestinians injured in fighting with Israeli soldiers. The violence erupted after a visit by Israel's hawkish opposition leader Ariel Sharon to a disputed holy site in Jerusalem's Old City on September 28th. Israel's U.N. Ambassador Yaakov Levy said he could not think of a worse time for the special session to take place, adding that what was needed at this stage was "a supreme diplomatic effort" to end the hostilities. The session could at best be counterproductive by distracting from efforts to end the violence, he said, and at worst provide more "inflammatory rhetoric which could spill over into the area." The U.N. General Assembly in New York will also hold a special emergency session. |
Middle Eastern leaders and U.S. President Bill Clinton agreed on Tuesday at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit to try to end the conflict with a series of measures including the setting up of a fact-finding committee on the violence.
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