By Malcolm Siret
The BBC headline reads: 'War crimes could have been committed in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza, a senior UN official has said'.
There is no question that war crimes have been committed by Israel, Hizbollah, and Palestinian militants; so here we have Louise Arbour, the UN's High Commissioner of Human Rights, merely emphasizing – to those seemingly flouting the fact – that international humanitarian laws exist to protect civilians at times of conflict.
This doesn't appear to be the case in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza, where civilians are being deliberately targeted. The real question is whether or not "those who are behind these initiatives" will be held accountable.
Arbour insists: "Indiscriminate shelling of cities constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians", and "the bombardment of sites with alleged military significance, but resulting invariably in the killing of innocent civilians, is unjustifiable."
The words "terrorist targets" and "terror infrastructure" are constantly being used to describe the civilian areas under attack in order to 'justify' these initiatives as acts of war. But with close to 300 Lebanese (the vast majority civilians), 100 Palestinians (since July 6), and 29 Israelis killed, it is hard to believe that international humanitarian laws, or indeed the lives of innocents, are being considered.
The Commissioner's comments were echoed by the ICRC's (International Committee of the Red Cross) director of operations, Pierre Krähenbühl: "The high number of civilian casualties and the extent of damage to essential public infrastructure raise serious questions regarding respect for the principle of proportionality in the conduct of hostilities."
Paul Hunt, another UN representative on health and civil rights, is also concerned about the ‘humanitarian crisis’ in Gaza after the bombing of roads and a power station: "Israel's destruction of Gaza's only power station could constitute a war crime and should be investigated."
Arbour hopes that her words will be a "sobering signal" to those who continue to commit these (war) crimes.
I am repeatedly shocked, saddened and angered by the daily reports and an ever-increasing extent of human loss. I will be equally saddened and angered (though possibly less shocked) should Arbour's comments largely be ignored.
Picture: FlickR/whiteant.
