Open Shuhada Street Lecture: The Goldstone Report

The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict was a team established as an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The mission was established by the President of the UNHRC and Richard Goldstone, a respected international jurist from South Africa, was appointed to head the mission.

The mission's final report was released 15 September 2009, and accused both Israeli Defense Forces and Palestinian militants of war \crimes. It recommended that the sides openly investigate their own conduct and, should they fail to do so, that the allegations to be brought to the International Criminal Court. The Israeli government rejected the report as prejudiced and full of errors. The militant Islamic group Hamas initially rejected the report's findings, but then urged world powers to embrace it.

The controversial report received wide support among developing countries in the United Nations while Western countries were split between supporters and opponents of the resolutions endorsing the report. Supporters argued that the findings were accurate, that Richard Goldstone was a fair, credible figure, and that the recommendations of the report should be implemented. Critics argued that the report was factually and/or methodologically flawed and motivated by anti-Israel in the UNHRC.

Ismail Jamie will be here to discuss the report