By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, Oct 20 2000 (IPS)

The Arab nations were able to convince the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to approve – though by a narrow margin – a resolution condemning Israel for the violent incidents of the last three weeks in the Palestinian territories.

The decision was the result of 19 votes in favour, 16 against and 17 abstentions. In general, the industrialised nations as a bloc opposed the text presented by the Arab countries, while developing nations were divided between the “yes” vote and abstentions.

Delegates from the Arab and Islamic countries commented that the resolution preserves the reputation of the Geneva-bsed UN Commission on Human Rights and lamented that the European Union (EU) avoided discussion of a consensus text.

The United States and the EU criticised the resolution because it only condemns the abuses attributed to the Israelis and omits violations committed by Palestinians.

The approved text calls for the creation “on an urgent basis, of a human rights inquiry commission … to gather and compile information on violations of human rights and acts which constitute grave breaches of international humanitarian law by the Israeli occupying power.”

It also requests that “the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (Mary Robinson) undertake an urgent visit to the occupied Palestinian territories to take stock of the violation of human rights” committed by Israeli forces.

Another point included in the resolution asks that UN special rapporteurs on human rights and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances conduct immediate missions to the Palestinian territories and report their conclusions to the Commission.

The declaration calls upon Israel “to put an immediate end to any use of force against unarmed civilians,” and upon “the international community to take immediate effective measures to secure the cessation of violence by the Israeli occupying power.”

The declarative portion of the UN Commission’s resolution contains paragraphs that sharply censure Israel, “condemning the provocative visit to Al-Haram Al-Sharif on 28 September 2000 by Ariel Sharon, the Likud party leader.”

The Palestinians and other Arab nations maintain that Sharon’s visit triggered the violent incidents that occurred that day, and the ongoing clashes since, which have claimed more than 110 lives, mostly Palestinians.

The UN Commission on Human Rights, made up of 53 of the UN’s 189 member states, met for three days this week in special session at the request of the Arab nations and of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

The special sessions coincided with the emergency summit this week at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, which included the participation of presidents from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, United States and the European Union, as well as UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

The Sharm el-Sheik summit achieved accords intended to halt the violence in the Palestinian territories and to renew relations between the parties caught up in the conflict.

The leaders at the summit in Egypt also agreed to establish an investigative commission, entrusted to the United States and the UN secretary-general, to determine responsibilities for the wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

At the special session in Geneva, delegates from the western nations said the resolution adopted by the Commission endangers the implementation of the accords reached at Sharm el-Sheik.

The US delegation said the adopted text does not provide a route for reconciliation between the Israelis and Palestinians. The Israeli representatives charged that the resolution blames just one party to the conflict and fails to express regret for the Israeli victims.

A Latin American diplomat commented that the resolution is weak, but it will be carried out.

The Commission’s directive panel, presided by Nepalese representative Shambhu Ram Simkhada, must now designate the members of the inquiry commission that is to travel to the Palestinian territories.

A statement from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights indicated that implementing the resolution would cost approximately 814,000 dollars.

Of that sum, 594,000 would be earmarked for the inquiry commission’s expenses, 20,000 for the travel expenses of High Commissioner Robinson and her team, 100,000 for the mission of special rapporteurs and another 100,000 for general expenses.

Voting in favour of the resolution were Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cuba, China, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mauricio, Morocco, Niger, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sudan, Tunisia and Venezuela.

Those voting against included Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxemburg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Spain and the United States.

Abstaining were Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Congo, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Rwanda, Russia, South Korea and Zambia.

The delegation from Liberia did not attend the vote of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

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