On 1/29, Israeli representatives failed to appear at a session of the UNHCR in Geneva that had been scheduled to review Israeli human rights practices under the organization’s ‘‘Universal Periodic Review Process,’’ to which all 193 member states are subjected. (Israel’s last review was in 12/2008). Israel was the 1st country to boycott its periodic review at the council, ignoring advice by the U.S. and other countries not to do so (1/24). Israel had cut ties with the UNHRC in March 2012 following the council’s approval of a fact-finding mission to investigate Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The findings of that investigation, which were published on 1/31 (see Doc. A5 in this issue), declared Israel’s settlement policy to be a contravention of the Geneva Convention and thus a potential war crime under the jurisdiction of the ICC. The investigators, led by French judge Christine Chanet, called on Israel to halt settlement expansion and withdraw all settlers. Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the report, calling it counterproductive and the result of a ‘‘one-sided and biased approach towards Israel.’’ Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi welcomed the report, saying that the Palestinians were encouraged by its ‘‘candid assessment of Israeli violations.’’
Two senior UN officials involved in the Israeli-Palestinian arena issued warnings this quarter. On 1/23, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry told the UNSC that the Middle East peace process had entered a critical period ‘‘in which concerted action will be vital if we are to salvage the two-state solution.’’ Later that same month, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator James W. Rawley expressed serious concern about the killing of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces in the o.t., decrying the use of live ammunition and calling for impartial investigations into specific incidents (1/30).
In 1/2013, the UN announced that it would investigate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for targeted killings by the U.S., UK, and Israel. The UN special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights Ben Emmerson will lead the investigation, which will address 25 examples of attacks (1/24). Emmerson said in a statement that it was ‘‘ ... imperative that appropriate legal and operational structures are urgently put in place to regulate its use in a manner that complies with the requirements of international law, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law (or the law of war as it used to be called), and international refugee law.’’ Israel is not expected to cooperate with the inquiry.