WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
European Centre for Law & Justice (ECLJ) – the international
affiliate of the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) –
today called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to end her biased comments insinuating that Israel is guilty of war crimes while giving
Hamas a pass for deadly tactics used by the terrorists which
clearly violate international law.
"The United Nations has a responsibility to be fair and
objective in its comments regarding Israel's legitimate and lawful attempt to
protect its citizens from terrorists." said Jay Sekulow, who serves
as Chief Counsel of the ECLJ as well as the ACLJ. "By choosing
sides, the UN's misleading rhetoric undermines the organization's
integrity and legitimacy. Such one-sided criticism is not only
unjustified, but also dangerous, reprehensible, and morally
bankrupt. It encourages Hamas to continue to violate international
law with impunity at the expense of innocent Israeli and
Palestinian civilians. At the very least, the UN should be expected
to even-handedly report the facts, criticize the real aggressor,
and have the courage to say which party is responsible for placing
innocent lives at risk. That apparently is too much to ask. Readily
available evidence establishes beyond doubt that Hamas is
routinely, openly, and notoriously violating international law.
Yet, Israel is singled out by the
UN and others for actions it would have preferred to avoid
altogether, but for the incessant attacks on Israeli soil from
Hamas-controlled Gaza."
The ECLJ is an international, Non-Governmental Organization
(NGO), dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights
and to the furtherance of the rule of law in international affairs.
The ECLJ has held Special Consultative Status before the United
Nations/ECOSOC since 2007.
In a detailed letter sent to H.E. Navanethem Pillay – the UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland – the ECLJ argues that
international law recognizes Israel's inherent right of self-defense in
protecting its civilian population from Hamas terror attacks. At
the same time, the ECLJ contends that attacking a legitimate
military target is not a war crime and argues that Israel is complying with international law –
taking the necessary precautions before striking a military target
near civilians.
The ECLJ argues the UN is ignoring Israel's lawful response to terrorism and
ignoring the fact that Hamas terrorists are engaging in a
systematic campaign to target civilians that violates international
law.
The ECLJ says Hamas is violating international law and
committing war crimes by engaging in the following tactics:
- By Intentionally Placing Its Weapons Caches, Firing Sites, and
Military Headquarters in Civilian Areas, Hamas Is Solely
Responsible for Incidental Harm to Civilians that Occurs When
Israel Must Deal With Such Sites.
- Using Places of Worship for Military Purposes.
- Using Schools for Military Purposes.
- Using Civilian Neighborhoods for Military Purposes.
- Using Hospitals for Military Purposes.
The ECLJ contends the UN is one-sided and biased against
Israel in its remarks about the
conflict. The ECLJ points out that Israel "is making herculean attempts to fully
comply with IHL (International Humanitarian Law)" while the other
side – Hamas – "could essentially care less."
In its letter to the UN, the ECLJ contends: "You have not
seriously condemned Hamas for indiscriminately firing thousands of
rockets into Israel to create
terror and attack innocent Israeli civilians. The rules of war were
adopted, inter alia, to protect civilian lives. They can only do so
if they are enforced in an even-handed manner. So far, you are
attacking the wrong party. Israel
seeks to comply with IHL. Only the blind – or those intentionally
blinding themselves to the facts – could criticise Israel and give Hamas a pass."
The ECLJ letter, posted here, concludes:
"We, therefore, respectfully urge you to thoroughly examine what
you say before you say it. We further urge you to examine the facts
to determine which party in the Gaza conflict really seeks to comply with IHL
and which does not. An objective, honest, evaluation will, we are
confident, lead any honest person, to conclude that Israel is the only party seeking to meet the
requirements of IHL. As such, Israel should be commended, not vilified, for
its efforts to carry out its IHL obligations in the face of a
determined, fanatical, unprincipled foe which intentionally and
indiscriminately attacks Israeli civilians and uses its own
civilian population as human shields."
The letter sent to the UN comes just weeks after the ECLJ
condemned comments made by the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) – biased comments accusing Israel of war crimes.
Led by ECLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the European Centre for
Law & Justice (ECLJ) is based in Strasbourg, France. The ECLJ is an
international affiliate of the American Center for Law and Justice,
which is headquartered in Washington,
D.C. and online at aclj.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
For Print: Gene
Kapp (757) 575-9520
For Broadcast:
Alison Geist or Anna Hutsell (770) 813-0000
SOURCE American Center for Law and Justice