By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 18 -- After UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon decided not to list Israel or Hamas in the annex of his Children and Armed Conflict report -- nor the French troops alleged to have raped children in the Central African Republic -- on June 18 Inner City Press asked Malaysia's Foreign Minister Anifah for his views on both. Video here.
Anifah said everyone should be held accountable. Pressed, he said that Ban Ki-moon should be asked.
Inner City Press asked asked Anifah about the migrant crisis not only in the Mediterranean but in Asia. He recounted his country's commitments, but said that the international community must help more, it is a global problem.
In later speeches, many criticized Ban for the omission and urged him to reverse it. Israel on the other hand said without "attention to intention," the CAAC office ill-served children.
Australia called for the Security Council's South Sudan sanctions committee to start listing people. Myanmar sung its own praises. Palestine, whose stakeout Inner City Press missed, said this:
“We come before the Security Council anguished by the Secretary-General's decision to exclude Israel from the list of parties committing grave violations against children in his annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict (S/2015/409). Israel, the occupying Power, is without doubt a flagrant violator of child rights. Israel systematically commits crimes against Palestinian children, its actions contravening its obligations under human rights law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and international humanitarian law, which obligates the occupying Power to ensure the well-being and safety of the civilian population under its occupation.
“Evidence verified by the United Nations and numerous human rights organizations affirms that Israel continues to kill and maim children, attack schools and hospitals, and prevent humanitarian access, with devastating impact on the rights, lives and well-being of Palestinian children. These facts are well documented in the current report and similar past reports.
“According to the established criteria, such actions would trigger a listing among the grave violators identified in the report's annex. And, yet, Israel was not included in that list as pressures were again blatantly exerted to shield it from censure and measures of accountability. This glaring omission and failure to hold Israel responsible for its crimes comes at heavy cost to our innocent children, who are being denied the protection of the law, their rights violated, their suffering deepened and their lives, dreams and futures shattered, without consequence.
“Israel's brutality increased against Palestinian children in 2014, causing the 3rd highest number of child fatalities in armed conflicts worldwide. As reported, at least 557 Palestinian children were killed, the majority in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli military assaults of July-August 2014, including 340 boys and 200 girls, from babies of one week old to 17 years old.
“Israel must be held accountable for its crimes. We are convinced that only collective international action can compel it to cease its violations and respect the law. Our pursuit of accountability and commitment to international law are evident in our accession to the Rome Statute and other international treaties. While the Israeli Government continues to demonstrate in word and deed that it has no interest in peace and the rule of law, insistent on denying the Palestinian people their rights and entrenching its occupation, the Palestinian leadership remains committed to peace. To salvage the prospects for peace, we implore the international community, with the Security Council at the forefront, to act to uphold international law and UN resolutions towards ending Israel's illegal occupation and achieving freedom and justice for the Palestinian people. Until then, we again appeal for protection of the Palestinian people, beginning with our children."
“Evidence verified by the United Nations and numerous human rights organizations affirms that Israel continues to kill and maim children, attack schools and hospitals, and prevent humanitarian access, with devastating impact on the rights, lives and well-being of Palestinian children. These facts are well documented in the current report and similar past reports.
“According to the established criteria, such actions would trigger a listing among the grave violators identified in the report's annex. And, yet, Israel was not included in that list as pressures were again blatantly exerted to shield it from censure and measures of accountability. This glaring omission and failure to hold Israel responsible for its crimes comes at heavy cost to our innocent children, who are being denied the protection of the law, their rights violated, their suffering deepened and their lives, dreams and futures shattered, without consequence.
“Israel's brutality increased against Palestinian children in 2014, causing the 3rd highest number of child fatalities in armed conflicts worldwide. As reported, at least 557 Palestinian children were killed, the majority in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli military assaults of July-August 2014, including 340 boys and 200 girls, from babies of one week old to 17 years old.
“Israel must be held accountable for its crimes. We are convinced that only collective international action can compel it to cease its violations and respect the law. Our pursuit of accountability and commitment to international law are evident in our accession to the Rome Statute and other international treaties. While the Israeli Government continues to demonstrate in word and deed that it has no interest in peace and the rule of law, insistent on denying the Palestinian people their rights and entrenching its occupation, the Palestinian leadership remains committed to peace. To salvage the prospects for peace, we implore the international community, with the Security Council at the forefront, to act to uphold international law and UN resolutions towards ending Israel's illegal occupation and achieving freedom and justice for the Palestinian people. Until then, we again appeal for protection of the Palestinian people, beginning with our children."
At the end there were only four rights of reply, or "further statements" as they are called in the Security Council.
Israel shot back - in Arabic; Russia took on Georgia and Ukraine, which is said is hurting children in Dongas. Both counties did their replies and that that was it. Inner City Press chatted with a tired Zerrougui as she left, even as the doors to the Security Council stakeout were locked.
