Explanation of Vote (EOV) by Syria before the General Assembly 64th Session

Vote on Report of Fact Finding Mission on Gaza Conflict

New York( 

5 November 2009

SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC REPRESENTATIVE:  Thank you Mr. President.  The delegation of the Syrian A
rab Republic voted in favor of the resolution which we adopted a short while ago relevant to holding Israel accountable.  The occupying power -- the accountable for their crimes it committed during the aggression against Gaza proceeding from serious belief in the justice of the cause of the Palestinian people and its struggle for liberation, and although the resolution does not meet our minimum expectations.   
My delegation extends thanks to you Mr. President for quickly responding to the resolution of the Human Rights Council and for affording the international community the opportunity to condemn the war crimes and crimes of genocide perpetrated by Israel in full view of the states and peoples of the world.
Syria emphasizes that it views the votes of the member states on this resolution as a criterion of the credibility of the states in regard to one of the important aspects in the work of our international organization.
We do not believe that there is any justification whatsoever for not voting in favor of this modest resolution because the humanitarian duty and the responsibility assumed by our international organization in standing up to Israeli crimes necessitate that.  Allowing Israel to continue its violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law simply means that such states have shirked their responsibilities and have gone so far in exercising double standards, so much so that this will discourage us henceforth from sitting together with them to discuss questions of human rights or questions of international humanitarian law.  
Everyone must realize that the picture before us has become clearer than ever before, as the questions of human rights and often questions of international humanitarian law have become but tools in the hands of some to exercise pressure and blackmail against other states with which they differ in political positions, economic interests and methods of hegemony and control over other peoples.
Proceeding from all of the above, my delegation would like to register its rejection for any implicit equating by the resolution adopted between the aggressor and the victim.  Israel, gentlemen, is the power occupying Palestinian land.  It is Israel that used internationally prohibited weapons to murder the elderly, the children and other innocents in Palestine.  The distortion of facts is a denial of the right of peoples under occupation to resist their occupiers, and Syria, together with numerous others who share its conviction, will not accept for the truth to be transformed into falsehood and for the triumph of injustice and murder over justice and the rule of law.  
Finally, my delegation urges all member states to take the content of this resolution to its expected conclusion, including the Security Council and to mete out punishment to the Israelis who perpetrated war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.  Thank you, Mr. President.