Amnesty International criticizes proposal to halt ICC action against Israel

Human right's organization criticizes New Zealand's call for the Palestinian Authority to pause efforts to bring Israel to trial at the Hague, as part of draft UNSC resolution.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Meeting of the UN Security Council (photo credit: REUTERS)
Meeting of the UN Security Council
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Amnesty International on Tuesday criticized a section of New Zealand's proposed UN Security Council resolution which calls for a renewal of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), yet proposes that the Palestinians pause their efforts to bring Israel to the dock of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague.
In a statement, Amnesty expressed that it is "deeply concerned" that the move could damage chances for a lasting peace.
Amnesty's Executive Director in New Zealand Grant Bayldon wrote that the proposal "disregards the situation of Palestinian and Israeli victims... and would not address the impact of the long-standing impunity in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories."
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully, whose country is serving a two-year term on the Security Council, told a council meeting last week that recent events “cry out for action.”
The draft calls on the parties to refrain from “referring a situation concerning Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories to the International Criminal Court.”
The draft also calls on both parties to refrain from actions or statements that might undermine or prejudice negotiations or their outcome, “including continued expansion of settlements and demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied territories.”
JTA contributed to this report.


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