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At UN, Libya Circulates Gaza Report Draft Resolution, Ban's Withholding Unexplained

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, May 12 -- Libya has circulated to other UN Security Council members a draft resolution about the UN's Gaza report. Inner City Press was the first to obtain and publish a leaked copy of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's summary of the report and his four page cover letter. Since then, it has become unclear on what legal or even philosophic basis Ban Ki-moon is withholding the full report, UN work product, from the member states which pay for and own the Organization.

  The issue scarcely arose during Monday's staged debate on the Middle East hosted by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. Libya, speaking near the end of that debate, pitched its one state solution -- one wag called it Pasrael -- then said that it would not object to the Russian-negotiated two-state Presidential Statement. Then, late Monday after the meet, Libya circulated the below:

11 May 2009

Draft Resolution

The Security Council,

Reaffirming all of its relevant resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003), 1850 (2008), and 1860 (2009),

Reaffirming the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, to the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem,

Recalling Articles 100, 104 and 105 of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling also the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, of 13 February 1946,

Reaffirming in particular Article II, Section 3 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations regarding the inviolability of the premises, property and assets of the United Nations,

Recalling also the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, of 9 December 1994,

Convinced that there is an urgent need to adopt appropriate and effective measures for the prevention of attacks committed against the United Nations and associated personnel and for the punishment of those who have committed such attacks,

UN's Ban and Libyan PR, action for attacks on UN staff not shown

Recognizing that United Nations operations are conducted in the common interest of the international community and in accordance with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations,

Expressing its grave concern about the endangerment of the safety of United Nations personnel and about incidents in which death or injuries to civilians occurred at, and/or damage was done to, United Nations premises or in which death or injuries to civilians occurred, and/or damage was sustained, in the course of United Nations operations, in the recent period in the Gaza Strip,

Gravely concerned by the dire humanitarian crisis being endured by the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip, where a high number of casualties and damages were reported,

Expressing concern about the extensive adverse effects of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip on United Nations operations and the provision of vital humanitarian assistance,

Emphasizing the importance of ensuring the safety and well-being of all civilians and the obligation to respect the universally accepted norms of international humanitarian law,

1. Welcomes the Secretary General’s Summary of the Report of the United Nations Headquarters Board of Inquiry into certain incidents in which death or injuries occurred at, and/or damage was done to, United Nations premises or in which death or injuries occurred at, and/or damage was sustained, in the course of United Nations operations in the Gaza Strip in the period between 27 December 2008 and 19 January 2009;

2. Expresses its appreciation to the members of the Board of Inquiry for the thorough investigation conducted and report submitted to the Secretary-General in fulfillment of the mandate entrusted to them;

3. Takes note of the Board of Inquiry’s findings that the Government of Israel is responsible for the deaths and injuries that occurred within the United Nations premises and the physical damage that was done to United Nations premises and property in the incidents at the UNRWA Asma school, UNRWA Jabalia school, UNRWA Bureij Health Centre, the UNRWA convoy, UNRWA Gaza Field Office compound, UNRWA Beit Lahia school and the UNSCO compound;

4. Deplores the failure of Israel to implement sufficient efforts and precautions to fulfill its responsibilities to protect United Nations personnel and civilians sheltering on United Nations premises and to protect United Nations premises and property, as found by the Board of Inquiry;

5. Deplores also the firing by Israel of extremely dangerous ammunition and substances, including white phosphorous, into and in close proximity to United Nations premises and in populated urban areas, resulting in death and injuries to Palestinian civilians and substantial property damaged, amounting to gross negligence and reckless disregard for the lives and safety of sheltering Palestinian civilians, as found by the Board of Inquiry;

6. Condemns the military operations that have caused death and injury to United Nations personnel and civilian persons at and/or caused substantial damage and destruction to United Nations premises and loss of United Nations property in the Gaza Strip;

7. Calls for full respect of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to ensure the protection of civilians in all circumstances;

8. Condemns the direct and intentional Israeli military strikes against United Nations premises, amounting to an egregious breach of the inviolability of United Nations premises and a failure to accord the property and assets of the Organization immunity from any form of interference, and stresses that such inviolability and immunity cannot be overridden by demands of military expediency;

9. Decides to consider any actions or measures that should be taken to avoid the recurrence of such incidents against United Nations personnel and premises;

10. Calls for full respect of Articles 100, 104 and 105 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel in order to ensure the safety of the personnel of the United Nations, the protection of its institutions and the security of its premises in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem;

11. Calls for accountability and reparations and reimbursement to be made by the Government of Israel to the United Nations in respect of death or injury to any United Nations personnel or any third party on United Nations premises and the repair or replacement of damaged, destroyed or lost property of the United Nations or United Nations personnel;

12. Calls also upon the Government of Israel to publicly retract and regret untrue allegations of misuse of United Nations premises for military activities, bearing in mind the gravity of such allegations, their effect upon public perceptions of the United Nations and the serious implications for the safety and security of its staff in the area of ongoing military operations;

13. Calls for further impartial investigation to assess responsibility and to pursue accountability for the civilian deaths and injuries, including among children and women, caused by military operations carried out in the period between 27 December 2008 and 19 January 2009, in accordance with the rules and principles of international humanitarian law and as recommended by the Board of Inquiry;

14. Calls in this regard for the full cooperation of all concerned parties with the investigation to be carried out by the Human Rights Council fact-finding commission of violations of international humanitarian law committed during the period between 27 December 2008 and 19 January 2009;

15. Reiterates its call for a permanent and durable ceasefire as well as for the lifting of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip through the sustained reopening of the Gaza Strip’s border crossings on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and resolution 1860 (2009) and its call for the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance as well as the regular flow of people and goods, including commercial goods and materials necessary for recovery and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip;

16. Commends and expresses deepest appreciation for the efforts of the UNRWA and other United Nations agencies providing vital humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip despite continuing obstructions to their work imposed by Israel, the occupying Power, and despite risk to their lives under dangerous circumstances;

17. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

At UN, Peres and Press Spar, UNRWA Cash Question Remain

UNITED NATIONS, May 6 -- The day after the UN's summary report on Gaza was given to the Security Council and leaked, Israeli President Shimon Peres came to meet with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and then the Press. He slammed the report for not mentioning the rockets fired by Hamas; he said Israel respects and works well with the United Nations.

  Inner City Press asked about the UN Relief and Works Agency's repeated complaint that Israeli does not allow them to bring cash into the Gaza Strip, and also that taxes and fees are imposed on them contrary to international law. Video here, from Minute 9:43.

 President Peres responded that "I don't begin to understand the question. If Hamas didn't fire, there would not be a single cartridge shot from Israel."  Inner City Press followed up, emphasizing that the question was about access to cash by and taxing of UNRWA. "We support UNRWA all the time," Peres answered.

   At the UN's noon media briefing minutes later, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson if Ban had raised either issue in his meet with Peres. "Not in this meeting," the spokesperson replied. Video here, from Minute 29:03.

UN's Ban and Peres, press pit and UNRWA complaints not shown

  Could she provide an update from UNRWA on the issues of cash and taxes? She said she would, and we will report on it upon receipt.

  Immediately following Peres' media availability at the stakeout, an Al Jazeera reporter who had posed a number of questions was asked to show his UN identification card. He took umbrage, asserting that he was only being asked because of his questioning of Peres.

   Others pointed at the heavy presence of UN and Israeli security officers at the stakeout, including in the "pit" with the journalists. The one question asked in Hebrew was not about Gaza or the UN report, but rather about the nuclear non proliferation treaty. Inner City Press posed the same question to Rose Gottemoeller, the US representative to the NPT meeting on which we intend to report soon. Watch this site.

 Click here for an Inner City Press YouTube channel video, mostly UN Headquarters footage, about civilian deaths in Sri Lanka.

Click here for Inner City Press' March 27 UN debate

Click here for Inner City Press' Feb 26 UN debate

Click here for Inner City Press' review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate

Click here from Inner City Press' December 12 debate on UN double standards

and this October 17 debate, on Security Council and Obama and the UN.

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These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund.  Video Analysis here

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