The U.N. Human Rights Commission has harshly condemned Israel for violating the human rights of Palestinians in the territories it administers and demanded it end its occupation of them forth with.
That was the content of three resolutions overwhelmingly adopted by the 43-nation panel at the midpoint of its annual six-week conference here last Friday.
The United States was the only country to vote against all three. Britain, Canada, the West European countries and Japan either voted against or abstained.
The American delegate, Craig Kuehl, said afterward that his government has often made clear that it opposes excessive Israeli measures in non-life-threatening situations in the territories.
But he regretted that the resolutions appeared to him to be more concerned with one-sided criticism of Israel than with finding a solution to the problems they cited.
Henry Steel, representing the United Kingdom, said the language of the resolutions was wholly disproportionate and inappropriate and therefore his delegation could not vote in their support.
VIOLATION OF GENEVA CONVENTIONS
Similarly, Ross Hynes of Canada said his delegation voted against the resolutions critical of Israel because of the harshness of their language and references to concentration camps and war crimes.
The resolutions were notably redundant inasmuch as they called both for Israel’s withdrawal from “Palestine” and an end to its “occupation” of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the “Syrian Arab Golan Heights.”
The litany of charges against Israel also was almost identical in each of the resolutions.
Within the broad framework of violations of the Aug. 12, 1949, Geneva Conventions aimed at protecting civilians in occupied areas in time of war, Israel was alleged among other things to have killed Palestinians, including children; permanently crippled youths by breaking their bones; savagely beat and maltreated women, inducing miscarriages; tortured detainees; and gassed civilians.
The resolutions were easily carried by a majority composed of African, Asian, Latin American, Arab and Soviet bloc countries.
The first two resolutions were adopted by 31-1, with 10 abstentions, and 32-8, with two abstentions, respectively. The third resolution was adopted 32-1, with nine abstentions.
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