IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation
0
Donate
Follow
EN
TRY
Close
  • Who are we
  • What we do
  • What can you do
  • Login
UN independent panel rejects Palmer report
A panel of human rights experts reporting to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council released a report on Tuesday in which they declared that a naval blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza is illegitimat
Palestine, MiddleEast, Turkey 15.09.2011

The report which was prepared by five independent human rights experts stated that Israel had used unreasonable force in its attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla in international waters last year, which claimed the lives of nine peace activists.

Prepared by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sept. 2, the UN panel's report on the 2010 Israeli attack on Mavi Marmara labeled the Israeli raid as “excessive and unreasonable,” but also claimed that due to Israel's security concerns, its blockade of Gaza is legal. The UN panel also blamed Turkey and flotilla organizers for contributing to the deaths.

The human rights experts said the blockade had subjected Gazans to collective punishment in "flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law."

The four-year blockade deprived 1.6 million Palestinians living in the enclave of fundamental rights, they said.

"In pronouncing itself on the legality of the naval blockade, the Palmer Report does not recognize the naval blockade as an integral part of Israel's closure policy towards Gaza which has a disproportionate impact on the human rights of civilians," they said in a joint statement.

Harsh criticisms at Palmer report

The report of the human rights experts stated that Israel recklessly violates international human rights law and international humanitarian law and subjects Gazans to collective punishment.

Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories and one of the five experts who issued Tuesday's statement, said the Palmer report's conclusions were influenced by a desire to salve Turkish-Israeli ties.

"The Palmer report was aimed at political reconciliation between Israel and Turkey. It is unfortunate that in the report politics should trump the law," he said in the statement.

An earlier fact-finding mission named by the same UN forum to investigate the flotilla incident also found in a report last September that the blockade violated international law. 

Related news
View all
IHH and UN carried Cash aid project for families in Syria
IHH and UN carried Cash aid project for families in Syria
With the Syria Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF) of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, IHH provided cash aid to 1,150 families living in the Racu region of Afrin, Syria, between December 2023 and March 2024, with a total of $296,465 in cash support.
30.04.2024
IHH and Kuwait Society for Relief send aid ship to Gaza
IHH and Kuwait Society for Relief send aid ship to Gaza
A humanitarian aid ship prepared jointly by IHH and Kuwait Society for Relief has set sail from Mersin Port with 907 tons of various aid for the people of Gaza.
14.04.2024
IHH provides iftar meals to 60,000 people in Syria
IHH provides iftar meals to 60,000 people in Syria
IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation provides iftar meals to 60,000 people in Syria during the first 20 days of Ramadan.
03.04.2024