By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Criticism of Israel's actions in its bloody 18-day
offensive of the Gaza Strip rained down from various
international bodies on Tuesday, with a UN group saying
violations of human rights have been "blatant." In
Geneva, the UN children's rights watchdog expressed deep
concern at the "devastating impact" of the conflict in
the Gaza Strip on children, saying there was serious
disregard for their livelihoods.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said in a
statement that the pledges 193 states have made to
protect the lives and development of children "have been
blatantly violated during this crisis."
Hundreds of youngsters have been killed or wounded and
the continuous fighting is harming the health, education
and family lives of those living through the conflict.
"The emotional and psychological effects of these events
on an entire generation of children will be severe," the
committee underlined.
It stressed that all signatories of the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child, including Israel, are obliged
to condemn the targeting of children and direct attacks
on places they use such as schools and hospitals.
"This affirmation is undermined by the fact that many
children have lost their lives as a result of manifest
disrespect for their protection and that of their
schools, including some administered by the UN itself."
UN and other relief agencies have protested against
shelling that has hit schools, which are often being
used as shelters.
On January 7, an Israeli strike near Al-Fakhura School
in northern Gaza killed 43 people, according to local
medical services, sparking condemnation by governments
worldwide.
The UN panel oversees the application of the convention
protecting child rights, which has been ratified by 193
countries including Israel - the highest subscription
rate of any human-rights treaty.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross on Tuesday called for unimpeded
access to the wounded in Gaza as a top official arrived
for a visit to the Occupied Territories and Israel.
"The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
is extremely concerned about the hostilities in Gaza and
the tragic impact on its population," it said in a joint
statement.
"We call on the involved parties, in particular Israel,
to remove restrictions on medical teams so they can do
their life-saving work," it said, underlining a legal
responsibility for both sides to care for the wounded.
The president of the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, plans to speak with
Israeli and Palestinian officials and to visit Al-Shifa
Hospital in Gaza over the next three days.
A Red Cross spokeswoman told AFP Tuesday that
Kellenberger had arrived in Gaza.
The ICRC and its sister agency, the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, on
Tuesday deplored "the lack of respect and protection
given to medical teams."
They expressed support for Palestinian Red Crescent
workers, saying their "tireless efforts have saved
countless lives."
Due to the fighting, "we now have to assess on a
case-by-case basis whether we can go on a rescue mission
to evacuate people in need," said Antoine Grand, head of
the ICRC office in Gaza.
More than 28,000 displaced people have sought refuge in
schools that have become temporary shelters, while food
is becoming scarce and fuel to power generators at Al-Shifa
Hospital is running low.
"Many of the wounded come in with multiple trauma, and
the number of amputations is on the rise," said Palina
Asgeirsdottir, an ICRC health delegate at the hospital.
Meanwhile, the EU's Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis
Michel told the Belgian daily La Libre Belgique in
comments published Tuesday that "the evidence, which
experts agree on and denounce, shows that Israel is not
respecting international human rights laws" in Gaza,
where it is giving insufficient protection to the civil
population.
"The first obligation is that an occupying power must
preserve the lives of the population, protect them, feed
them and look after them. That is manifestly not the
case" and "I can't accept it," Michel said.
"It's even more difficult to accept when it comes from a
democracy," like one the Zionist state purports to be,
the Belgian commissioner said. - AFP, with The Daily
Star
Copyright © 2009, The Daily Star. All rights reserved.
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