World Organization Against Torture Rebukes Israel

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday May 06, 2002 13:53 by http://palestinechronicle.com

GENEVA:In a press release issued on May 3, the World Organization Against Torture expressed outrage and great concern regarding Israel’s negative attitude regarding decisions made by the United Nations Security Council concerning the prevailing situation in the Middle East.

OMCT emphasized that the decision to send a fact finding mission to Jenin was unanimously passed by all members in the Security Council. It was only due to Israel’s non-compliance that the team dissolved.

According to OMCT, "Israeli and Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations that are
members of the OMCT network, have regularly addressed the Secretary General concerning extremely serious allegations about the Israeli army's behavior in the Occupied Territories, most particularly in the case of the siege of Jenin. Consequently, OMCT was waiting for the Fact Finding mission's inquiry to give an indisputable picture of what had really happened, in order to hush all unverifiable rumors."

OMCT also expressed frustration regarding Israel's continuous disregard for resolutions passed by the Security Council, and its refusal to prove that it complies with the 4th Geneva Convention. They called upon Israel to respect UN resolutions, "an attitude that is expected from a country that claims to be democratic."

Moreover, OMCT challenged the United Nations itself to hold those member states accountable when they express disregard for UN resolutions, stating that such a "shameful precedent" ultimately paralyses the authority of such resolutions.