General Assembly: 72nd Plenary
General Assembly Requests Secretary-General to 
Submit Further Report on Investigations into
Violations During Gaza Conflict –  Part 1
February 26, 2010	

Statement by Qatar

QATAR:  Mr. President, permit me at the outset to express our appreciation to you for convening this important meeting of the General Assembly in followup to the UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict, widely known as the Goldstone report.  We wish also to thank you for your speedy request made by the Arab group for the convening of this meeting in the wake of the Secretary General's submission of his report, A/64/651, pursuant to the request made by the General Assembly in its resolution 64/10 of 5, November 2009.
Along the same lines, we wish to thank Secretary General for his submission of that report and express our deep appreciation to him for his firm and consistent calls for full respect for international law, for the protection of civilians under all circumstances and for the realization of accountability and justice.  
We believe that our meeting today constitutes yet another decisive step in the international community's efforts to uphold international law and its struggle to end impunity, to deter future violations of international law and to promote real peace through the exertion of serious efforts aimed at ensuring accountability and justice for the grave breeches of international humanitarian law and human rights perpetrated during Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip last year, which caused extensive loss of life and injury and vast destruction and devastation from which so far the besieged Palestinian population, including children and women, continue to regrettably and tragically suffer from.
Mr. President, we have noticed that the Arabic translation of draft resolution A/64/L-48 omits from the title the Roman Numeral II.  Therefore, we would appreciate it if the secretariat reflect this observation in a corrected text of the draft resolution and in the resolution itself and correct it accordingly in the other official languages.
I have the honor on behalf of the cosponsors to introduce draft resolution on the followup to the report of the UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict.  This draft resolution represents an important procedural followup to resolution 64/10, bearing in mind that the Secretary General in his report to the General Assembly noted that no determination can be made on the implementation of the resolution by the parties concerned.  
As such, we believe it is necessary for the Assembly in promoting accountability and justice to once again call upon the concerned parties to comply with the calls made in its previous resolutions in this regard.  The draft begins in the preamble by recalling the General Assembly's relevant resolutions, including resolution 64/10 in followup of the report of the United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict.
The remainder of the preamble is devoted to recalling and reaffirming relevant instruments and principles of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law.  This includes recalling the fourth Geneva Convention and its applicability to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as well as the human rights covenants.  It also includes reaffirmation of the obligations of all parties to respect international humanitarian and human rights law, of the importance of the safety and well being of all civilians and of the obligations under international law regarding the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
Moreover, once again, the need to ensure accountability for all violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in order to prevent impunity, ensure justice, deter further violations and promote peace is stressed.
In this connection, the imperative of achieving a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine for the ultimate attainment of lasting peace in the Middle East -- peace and stability in the Middle East -- is also reiterated.  In the operative paragraphs, the draft takes note of the Secretary General's report of 4, February 2010, which was submitted pursuant to operative paragraph 6 of resolution 64/10.  Operative paragraph two reiterates the call upon the government of Israel to conduct investigations that are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards into the serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law reported by the fact-finding mission towards ensuring accountability and justice.
In addition, operative paragraph three reiterates urging the -- the urging for the conduct by the Palestinian side of independent, credible investigations in line with international standards into the serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law reported by the fact-finding mission towards ensuring accountability and justice.
The draft resolution in addition reiterates the recommendation to the government of Switzerland in its capacity as the depository of the fourth Geneva Convention to reconvene as soon as possible a conference of high -- the high-contracting parties on measures to enforce the convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to ensure its respect in accordance with common article 1, bearing in mind the convening of the conference in 1999 and 2001 and the statement and declaration adopted then.
Finally, the draft, once again, requests the Secretary General to report to the General Assembly within a period of five months on the implementation of the present resolution with a view to taking further action if necessary by relevant UN organs and bodies, including the Security Council.  
Mr. President, on behalf of the cosponsors, I would like to express our deep hope for the broadest support possible for this draft resolution regarding a very significant and serious matter.  The international community is duty bound to remain firm and steadfast in its efforts to uphold international law, UN resolutions and to ensure accountability and justice in all circumstances, including with regard to the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
In this connection, we are certain that the General Assembly's adoption today of this draft resolution will contribute constructively and significantly to those principled efforts.  Thank you, Mr. President.