Amnesty International contacted me today and asked me to support a letter writing campaign. I sent the letter below which calls for Mr Yukio Takasu, the President of the UN Security Council,to ensure that those responsible for war crimes in Gaza and southern Israel are held accountable.

Dear Ambassador Takasu,

Re: Gaza Crisis: Call for accountability for abuses of international law in Gaza and southern Israel

I am writing to you as President of the Security Council. The devastation that we have witnessed so far, inflicted on innocent civilians in Gaza and southern Israel is inhuman. I have no doubt that we do no yet understand the full extent of the devastation and that people are continuing to suffer. They must be shocked at this wilful destruction of their lives and concerned that more is not being done to help them by the international community.

The evidence of war crimes committed by all parties to the conflict must now be addressed and whilst I welcome the UN Security Council’s call, set out in resolution 1860 (2009), for humanitarian assistance and the re-opening of Gaza’s crossing points, I am concerned that the Security Council has not yet addressed the question of accountability, without which there can be no sustainable peace or security.

I urge the Security Council to address the question of accountability by promptly establishing an independent international inquiry into all allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and abuses of international human rights law by Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups that participated in the conflict.

An international fact-finding team of qualified experts should be sent to the region to carry out investigations and, where there is sufficient evidence, persons suspected of perpetrating crimes under international law must be prosecuted in proceedings, which meet international standards of fairness.

Sincerely,
Nancy Platts

Tags: Gaza

Posted on February 3, 2009 in Community Projects and Charities, Foreign Policy.