Winograd Acknowledges Israeli War Crimes
Only International Intervention Will End Zionism's War | 02.02.2008 14:24 | Anti-militarism | World
Winograd: Current use of cluster bombs not in line with int'l law
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press
Israel must consider whether it wants to consider using cluster bombs in the future, because its current manner of employing them does not conform to international law. The Winograd Committee made this recommendation in its report on Israel's conduct in the Second Lebanon War as it relates to international law.
In a special appendix dedicated to the use of cluster bombs, the committee determined that, "The cluster bomb is inaccurate, it consists of bomblets that are dispersed over a large area, and some of the bomblets do not explode [on impact] and can cause damage for a long period afterward." The committee thus recommended that non-military elements be involved in assessing their future use in light of international law.
In Beirut, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's office said the Israeli probe failed to hold the army accountable for its actions, including the use of cluster bombs. It said the practice was a flagrant violation of international norms, human rights and is tantamount to a daily war crime committed against Lebanese civilians.
The Winograd Committee also recommended reducing to a minimum the presence of the attorney general and the chief military prosecutor in decision-making forums during wartime: the cabinet, security cabinet and Israel Defense Forces General Staff sessions.
The committee said that the activity of the legal advisers should focus on the preliminary stage, in inculcating the principles of international law, as well as on examining the decision-making process after the fact.
The committee ruled that Israel generally complied with war directives laws, which are part of international law, both with regard to the justification for initiating the war and with regard to combat operations themselves.
The committee decided not to examine in depth individual complaints about violations of international law committed by Israel in the course of the war, which included claims about the selection of illegitimate targets, the use of cluster bombs, the disproportionate harming of civilians and infrastructure in Lebanon and the use of civilians as "human shields." Instead, the committee made do with general conclusions, in part because, "We did not find it appropriate to deal with issues that are part of a political and propaganda war against the state."
The committee examined the methods used to instill the precepts of international law among the country's leaders and in army officers and combat soldiers, concluding that, "The authorities are cognizant of the duty to obey international law and acted out of a desire to do so during the war."
Regarding the presence of legal advisers in the field during the course of the war, the committee said: "It is better, in our opinion, to inculcate the general norms prior to action, as a matter of routine.
In the course of action, the decision-makers and the soldiers should be left to operate in accordance with these norms, and afterward the cases should be examined and responsibility determined in the event of a serious deviation from the obligatory norms that were inculcated... The fighting forces, especially at the field level, should focus on combat and not on consultations with legal advisers."
Lebanon: The Winograd Report in full
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/lebanon-the-winograd-report-in-full-776000.html
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Amnesty Int'l: Winograd report fails to address Israel's war crimes
02.02.2008 19:31
By Haaretz Service
Tags: Amnesty International
Human rights organization Amnesty International on Thursday called the Winograd Commission's final report on Israel's conduct during the Second Lebanon War, published Wednesday, "deeply flawed," in its failure to address war crimes committed by Israel.
The organization said that the report failed to investigate government policies and military strategies that didn't discriminate between the Lebanese civilian population and Hezbollah combatants and between civilian property and infrastructure and military targets.
"This was yet another missed opportunity to address the policies and decisions behind the grave violations of international humanitarian law , including war crimes, committed by Israeli forces," said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program.
"The indiscriminate killings of many Lebanese civilians not involved in the hostilities and the deliberate and wanton destruction of civilian properties and infrastructure on a massive scale were given no more than token consideration by the commission," said Smart.
The press release explained that that though the Winograd inquiry committee was not vested with the powers of an official state commission of investigation, it had the power to subpoena witnesses and recommend the prosecution of officials it found to have been responsible for willful or negligent criminal conduct.
According to Amnesty International, "the [Winograd Commission] chose to limit its work to reviewing military strategy and political decisions...and made to effort to recommend measures for holding those responsible for [serious violations] to account. It recommends the development of mechanisms to ensure the effectiveness of fighting within the framework of international humanitarian law standards [and] immediate investigations by the army when there are concerns that international humanitarian law was violated and better preparedness for responding to humanitarian problems arising from military action."
"But it essentially brushed aside available evidence of serious violations of international law, claiming that interpretations of international humanitarian law are controversial, that it did not have the capacity to deal with the volume of data, that the alleged violations were already being investigated by other bodies, and that such allegations are used as propaganda against Israel, whereas it did scrutinize military strategies and the conduct of certain operations in detail, including in cases which were already being investigated separately."
Based on its on-the-ground research and analysis of the conduct of hostilities in 2006, Amnesty International concluded that the Lebanese civilian population paid the heaviest price for the Israel Defense Force attacks.
"Of some 1,190 people killed, the vast majority were civilians not involved in the hostilities, among them hundreds of children. The overwhelming majority of homes, properties and infrastructure targeted in air strikes and artillery attacks were likewise civilian."
"Although the Winograd Commission recommended that the army review its policies on the use of cluster bombs to ensure that the use of these weapons will not violate international humanitarian law and army discipline, it did not propose any concrete measures," said Smart.
Amnesty International called on Israel's government to provide data on the use of cluster bombs during the Second Lebanon War, establish an independent and impartial investigation into evidence indicating that IDF forces committed serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the conflict, and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
Ha'Aretz
No surprise
03.02.2008 11:43
Fundamentally, they don't really think what they are doing is wrong.
Steve