B’nai B’rith calls for U.N. official’s ouster

B’nai B’rith International called for the ouster of a U.N. special rapporteur on Palestinian rights. A representative of BBI, an accredited NGO at the United Nations, told the U.N. Human Rights Council this week that John Dugard’s latest report barely mentions Palestinian terrorism while criticizing Israeli security measures. “In his lengthy text depicting Israeli measures to defend its citizens from suicide and other terrorist attacks, such as the much-criticized barrier, the author does not find space for a single mention of these attacks coming from the West Bank and only half of a sentence regarding the on-going Kassam attacks fired from Gaza,” said David Matas, B’nai Brith Canada’s senior counsel and a member of the BBI delegation in Geneva. “We recommend that the council reject this selective approach, to balance the mandate and to permit another person with a fresh and more objective approach to assume the task of special rapporteur, thereby encouraging Israel to cooperate in this endeavor, something that cannot be expected as long as Mr. Dugard remains in the job for which he has disqualified himself.” Most rapporteurs must have their mandates renewed each year, but Arab nations are trying to make the rapporteur on the Palestinians permanent.