Israel Tells U.N. It Opposes Meeting of Signatories to Geneva Convention

Israel has informed the United Nations that it “categorically objects” to the idea of convening a meeting of signatories to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to discuss the treatment of Palestinians in the administered territories.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, Israeli Ambassador Yoram Aridor said there is no precedent for calling such a meeting and charged this is a case of “singling out Israel.”

“There is no basis in the convention for convening such a meeting, and the convention makes no reference to such proposed actions,” wrote Aridor.

His letter came in response to a note Perez de Cuellar sent out earlier this month to the 164 signatories to the convention, soliciting their opinions on the feasibility of calling such a meeting.

Perez de Cuellar’s action follows the unanimous adoption on Dec. 20 of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on signatories to the convention “to ensure respect by Israel” for its “obligations under the convention.”

In the same resolution, Perez de Cuellar was asked to follow up on an earlier proposal he made that the signatories to the convention meet to discuss possible action concerning Palestinians living in the territories.

Although the United States supported the resolution, U.S. officials have nonetheless expressed strong reservations with the idea of holding such a meeting.

The Fourth Geneva Convention regulates the treatment of civilians living under occupation. Although Israel has not accepted formal application of the convention to the Palestinians living in the administered territories, Israeli officials say they apply the humanitarian provisions of the convention in principle.

Last fall, Israel came under repeated criticism in the Security Council, with U.S. backing, after 17 Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli border police during rioting on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount on Oct. 8.

Three resolutions and one non-binding council statement were passed during that period, as the United States struggled to keep the focus on the Gulf crisis.

NEW MIDEAST ENVOY APPOINTED

Aridor’s letter pointed out that since the end of World War II, millions of civilians have been killed, and millions more wounded and forced to flee their homes, but the contracting parties have never met to discuss “what amount to genuine breaches” of the Geneva Convention.

“The unprecedented call to convene the contracting parties of the convention is a dangerous move to politicize an international humanitarian law instrument and severely undermines its effectiveness,” he wrote.

“Israel is in regular contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross personnel on an ongoing basis to enable them to fulfill their functions under the Fourth Geneva Convention.”

Meanwhile, Perez de Cuellar has appointed Edouard Brunner as the new special representative to the Middle East. Brunner, who will continue serving as Switzerland’s ambassador to Washington, replaces veteran Swedish diplomat Gunner Jarring, 83, who was originally appointed to the post in 1967.

Brunner’s mandate, like Jarring’s, falls under Security Council Resolution 242. This oft-cited resolution, passed shortly after the 1967 Six-Day War, called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied territory and affirmed the right of every state to live in peace within secure and recognized borders.

This was later reaffirmed after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when the Security Council passed Resolution 338, which calls for the implementation of Resolution 242 and negotiations for a lasting peace in the region.

Since then, the only formal peace reached was between Israel and Egypt, which signed a peace treaty under U.S. guidance in 1979.

How active a role Brunner will take in the peace process remains to be seen, given the current involvement of the United States in trying to promote a solution.