The United Nations Human Rights Council removed the most incendiary provision of an Israel-bashing resolution, which is set for a vote next week, but the revised document remains “awful,” a diplomatic source told JNS.
Pakistan put forward the new document, which the Organization for Islamic Cooperation backed, before the council, which considers and passes a large number of resolutions that critique Israel annually.
The resolution, JNS is told, would create a perpetual mechanism “to assist in the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious crimes under international law committed by all parties” in Israel and Palestinian-controlled territories.
Despite mention of “all parties,” the draft referred only to Israeli violations of international law, JNS understands.
The mechanism would have provided resources to prepare “case files in order to facilitate” what the document calls “fair and independent criminal proceedings” in courts around the world.
Following vigorous negotiations, that mechanism won’t be included in the final draft, per the diplomatic source. But the resolution still demands an arms embargo on Israel.
It also requires that the council-sponsored Commission of Inquiry “report on both the direct and indirect transfer or sale of arms, munitions, parts, components and dual use items to Israel, the occupying power, including those that have been used during the Israeli military operation in Gaza since Oct. 7 2023, and to analyze the legal consequences of these transfers,” JNS is told.
Given the potentially broad interpretation of dual-use items—those with military and civilian applications—states and officials around the world, including Americans, would be at risk of criminal prosecution for conducting arms transfers and a range of other business with Israel under the resolution.
The Commission of Inquiry has faced extensive criticism for its membership selection, including those with documented histories of Jew-hatred, and its reporting to date, which has almost exclusively criticized Israel.
The commission’s mandate is to explore all causes and developments in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The Human Rights Council, a 47-member body which includes some of the world’s worst human rights offenders, is scheduled to vote on the resolution on Tuesday or Wednesday.
