UNITED NATIONS: With Pakistan supporting, the General Assembly Thursday overwhelmingly voted to endorse a U.N. report critical of the deadly Israeli bombing of Gaza last winter that calls for domestic probes into alleged war crimes committed by both Israel and Palestinian militants during the conflict.

The 192-member assembly did so after a two-day debate, adopting a Arab-drafted resolution by a vote of 114 in favour to 18 against.  Fortyfour countries cast abstentions, meaning neither opposing nor opposing the text. 

The resolution urged Israel and Palestine to launch the investigations that are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards within a period of three months.
 
Most of the more than 50 speakers said there must be accountability - especially from Israel - for the alleged violations of international law during the Gaza conflict in which 1,400 Palestinians lost their lives. As against that, 13 Israelis were killed.

Israel angrily rejected the resolution as - deeply flawed, one-sided and prejudiced - while the United States called it unbalanced and biased and warned that it will hurt prospects for achieving Mideast peace.

The UN report was drawn up Justice Richard Goldstone, a respected South African judges, found that both sides committed serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity, during the conflict in December 2008 and January 2009.

The four-member fact-finding team called for a number of measures, including the referral of the report to the Security Council, since neither the Israeli Government nor the responsible Palestinian authorities have so far carried out any credible investigations into alleged violations.

General Assembly President Ali Treki, speaking to reporters after the resolution was adopted, said; this vote is an important declaration against impunity. It is a call for justice and accountability. Treki called on all concerned to devote themselves to implementing the contents of the resolution, which asks both the Israelis and Palestinians to carry out independent inquiries.

Without justice, there can be no progress towards peace. A human being should be treated as a human being, regardless of his or her religion, race or nationality.” Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour welcomed the vote, saying the implementation of Goldstone’s report will now begin in stages.

In three months we will come back to General Assembly to consider the report of the Secretary-General for further action, including in all parts of the United Nations, including in the Security Council, said Riyad Mansour. The fact-finding mission was set up earlier this year at the request of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council.

Speaking before the vote, Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative Amjad Hussain Sial said his country viewed the Goldstone Report as an opportunity for the international community to address the suffering of the Palestinian people and for Israel to rectify its past actions and policies. 

He repeated the message Pakistan made at last month’s Security Council debate:  that the Council and the Middle East Quartet had to use their full potential to support the peace process through a transparent and objective engagement. 

Ambassador Sial hoped that the Goldstone Report would strengthen the initiative for peace in the region and the Assembly would use the important document for this purpose, he said.

VOTING FOR THE RESOLUTION WERE: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe. AGAINST:  Israel, United States, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nuru, Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Poland, Slovakia, Macedonia, Ukraine. ABSTAIN:  Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, San Marino, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Tonga, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uruguay.