Support the Goldstone Report on Gaza; Reject H.Res.867

February 09, 2010 Subject: Dear Representative, I urge you not to cosponsor or vote for H.Res.867, which calls on the “President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the `Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict' in multilateral fora.” This resolution undermines the commitment of the United States and the Obama Administration to the universality of human rights and the principle of holding accountable human rights violators. It also contains inaccurate information about and misleading characterizations of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, known informally as the Goldstone Report. The Goldstone Report documents in a dispassionate and even-handed manner “violations of international human rights and humanitarian law and possible war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed by all parties prior to, during, and after Israel’s assault on the occupied Gaza Strip in December 2008-January 2009. By instructing the Obama Administration to prevent further consideration of the Goldstone Report, Congress would be asking it to contradict its own commitment to the UN Human Rights Council to hold accountable human rights abusers. Speaking before the council, Dr. Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, stated: “Make no mistake; the United States will not look the other way in the face of serious human rights abuses. The truth must be told, the facts brought to light and the consequences faced.” This is exactly what the Goldstone Report does. It tells the truth about war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militant groups before, during, and after Israel's December 2008-January 2009 assault on the Gaza Strip and recommends steps for accountability and justice. Moreover, H.Res.867 contains inaccurate information about and misleading characterizations of the Goldstone Report. For example, this resolution asserts that the mandate of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict was “flawed and biased.” In fact, however, the Goldstone Report stated that: “To implement its mandate, the Mission determined that it was required to consider any actions by all parties that might have constituted violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law.” This resolution declares that the Goldstone Report “denied the State of Israel the right to self-defense.” In fact, however, the Goldstone Report took as its “normative framework” the Charter of the United Nations, which in Article 51 recognizes “the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence.” This resolution claims that the Goldstone Report “repeatedly downplayed or cast doubt upon” allegations of Hamas committing war crimes. In fact, however, it examined Palestinian militant rocket and mortar fire into Israel and concluded that “these attacks constitute indiscriminate attacks upon the civilian population of southern Israel and that where there is no intended military target and the rockets and mortars are launched into a civilian population, they constitute a deliberate attack against a civilian population. These acts would constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity.” In light of the disinformation about the Goldstone Report contained in H.Res.867 and the resolution's intent of undermining the commitment of the United States and the Obama Administration to the universality of human rights, I strongly urge you not to cosponsor or vote for this resolution. We will add your signature from the information you provide.		First Name* Last Name* Email* Street* Street 2 City* State/Province* Select a state Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Armed Forces (the) Americas Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland New Brunswick Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territory Other Zip/Postal Code* Send an Email