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On
Referring Gaza
to the ICC, UN
Rapporteur
Doubts 9 Votes
on UNSC
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 29 --
When the UN's
new Special
Rapporteur on
the situation
of human
rights in the
Palestinian
territories
occupied since
1967, Makarim
Wibisono, held
a UN press
conference on
October 29,
Inner City
Press asked
him if he is
calling for
referral of
the situation
to the
International
Criminal
Court, as
his follow
Indonesian UN
Rapporteur
Marsuki
Darusman is,
with regard to
North Korea.
The question
is about the
mandate and
scope of
rapporteurs.
Darusman at
the end of his
October 28
press
conference discussed
in the
briefing room
with scribes
how a pending
General
Assembly
resolution
might be
modified in
exchange for
him getting
into North
Korea, video
here.
Wibisono
replied that
the first step
would be for
the
Palestinian
parties --
that would be,
Hamas and
Fatah -- to
unite and
decide to
apply to join
the ICC.
But, Inner
City Press
pointed out,
North Korea is
not a member
of the ICC.
Darusman is
calling for
the situation
to be sent to
the UN
Security
Council for a
vote on
referring it
to the ICC.
Wibisono's
answer to the
follow up did
not mention
the expected
veto(es) -
which could
well be
applicable to
North Korea,
but hasn't
dissuaded
Darusman or
Japan or the
European Union
-- but instead
said he
doubted there
are nine “Yes”
votes in the
Security
Council to
refer the
situation in
Gaza to the
ICC.
Would that
remain the
same after
January 1,
with
Venezuela,
Malaysia and
Angola coming
onto the
Security
Council, along
with New
Zealand and
Spain? Watch
this site.
As the
Palestine
debate of the
UN Security
Council went
on in the
Council
chamber on
October 21,
Inner City
Press
conferred with
a range of
Council
sources about
the pending
draft
resolution to
set a time
frame to end
Israel's
occupation.
Negotiations
were
held on the
draft last
week but only
at the
“expert”
level, not of
Permanent
Representatives
of the
Council's 15
members.
Supporters of
the current
draft,
according to
Inner City
Press'
sources,
include China
and Russia,
Argentina and
Chile, Chad
and it was
assumed
Nigeria,
although
sources say
Nigeria in
consultations
said they
didn't yet
have
instructions.
France
was described
as more
excited by the
draft than
either the US
or the UK, as
not have a
problem with a
time frame to
end the
Occupation but
wanting
unstated
changes to the
draft. France
did not put
forth
amendments, a
source told
Inner City
Press,
guessing that
France didn't
want to
“embarrass”
the US
Administration
before the
November
mid-term
elections.
The UK
was described
as less
enthusiastic,
but as somehow
“softened” by
the recent
vote in
Parliament
favoring
recognizing
Palestine as a
state.
Talk
turned to the
new members of
the Security
Council coming
in on January
1, with
Malaysia
instead of
South Korea
seen as a
shift in favor
of Palestine
as a state.
(This
reporter's Security
Council
elections
coverage is
collected here.)
Angola and
Venezuela are
seen as
supportive and
“even Spain,”
as one source
put it to
Inner City
Press. But
what about New
Zealand? We'll
have more on
this. Watch
this site.
* * *
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reports
are
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