Human Rights Watch today strongly criticized Israel's decision to suspend cooperation with the United Nations fact-finding mission to the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin. The mission had been endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.
Israel reportedly has complained that it was not consulted on the composition of the investigating team. The Israeli government has alsSuspects shouldn't be able to choose their investigators," said Hanny Megally, executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "It is in everybody's interest that the true record of what happened in Jenin be established."
Human Rights Watch said that there was a long history of abusive governments trying to obstruct those appointed by the international community to look into human rights violations. Recent examples include the Democratic Republic of Congo's objection to the appointment of Roberto Garreton as a special rapporteur on the DRC and Burundi's objection to the appointment of Sergio Paulo Pinheiro to head the inquiry there.
"The United Nations and the international community have not bowed to such pressures in the past and they should stand firm today," said Megally.
