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STORY: GENEVA / GAZA FACT FINDING MISSION
TRT: 2.05
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: UNTV
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 20 MAY 2009, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
RECENT 2009, PALAIS DES NATIONS, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Aerial shot, Palais des Nations
20 MAY 2009, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Med shot, Ban Ki-moon shaking hands with Judge Richard Goldstone
3. Med shot, Ban Ki-moon and Judge Richard Goldstone photo-op
4. Wide shot, Judge Richard Goldstone with Navi Pillay and delegation
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Richard Goldstone, leader, Gaza fact finding mission:
“I am disappointed and the members of the mission are disappointed that we've had no positive result from the Israeli government. It would have been our wish to start there, to visit Southern Israel, to go into Gaza through the front door to go to the West Bank, which is also included in our mission. I made a number of approaches to the Israeli mission in Geneva even a direct approach to Prime Minister Netanyahu, but we've really received no official response. There have been media reports on non cooperation, but I regard them as unofficial. It would be good to get an official response, I would hope a positive response, but we are intent on doing an official mission taking into account all relevant factors, taking into account allegations, relevant allegations made by all parties."
6. Cutaway, Judge Goldstone listening to reporters questions
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Richard Goldstone, leader, Gaza fact finding mission:
“One of the decisions we've taken is that we will have a number of days of public hearings. If we can have them in the region, so much the better, but if necessary, we can have them here in Geneva. We can use video-conferencing, but we can also fly witnesses out and that way we'll be able to cover the whole field."
8. Med shot, cameraman
9. Wide shot, Judge Richard Goldstone with Navi Pillay and delegation
The team named by the Human Rights Council to look into alleged human rights violations during the conflict in Gaza at the beginning of the year may hold public hearings on the question.
Mission leader Judge Richard Goldstone said this to journalists in Geneva Wednesday after meeting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Judge Goldstone said he was disappointed that the Israeli authorities had not responded to his request for a visit despite a direct approach to Prime Minister Netanyahu.
The team was nevertheless determined to carry out its mission and report to the Human Rights Council by August.
Respecting that schedule would mean completing its field work by the end of June, the South African jurist added.
Judge Goldstone, a former prosecutor for the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia said he would have liked to begin the mission with a visit to Southern Israel entering Gaza, "through the front door" to go to the West Bank, but would go to Gaza through Egypt if that was the only option.
The investigative team would hold public hearings either in the region or Geneva, flying witnesses in or hearing them through video-conference.
After his appointment, Judge Goldstone made it clear that the mission would investigate alleged wrongdoings by both sides.
The other members of the fact-finding mission are British law professor, Christine Chinkin; Pakistani jurist and human rights specialist Hina Jilani, and Irish military expert Desmond Travers.
