International jurists group to probe Israel-Hezbollah conflict

The ICJ, a rights group assembling lawyers and judges from around the world, said in a statement that the probe conducted by legal experts and ex-high ranking military officers would impartially examine "whether and to what extent" the two sides had committed violations.

"There are consequences if one or both sides have violated the laws of war: those responsible must be held accountable, surviving victims have a right to reparation and should the conflict re-ignite, the military methods of those who have violated the laws of war must change," said ICJ Secretary General Nicholas Howen.

The inquiry aims to travel to Israel and Lebanon, visit the location of attacks, meet witnesses and seek to meet government officials in the two countries, senior Israeli military officials and representatives from Hezbollah.

Howen later told AFP that the formal "Expert Legal Inquiry" in the wake of conflict was an unusual step for the group and "reflected the seriousness of the situation".

Movement was expected within days not weeks. "It's urgent, not long term," he added.

The names of the experts were expected to announced shortly. They will produce a public report with recommendations for further action or investigation.

"With the welcome cessation of hostilities we cannot just forget the scale of civilian deaths and physical destruction over the last month," Howen said.

"Now there is an opportunity to move beyond confusion and misstatement, to clarify the facts surrounding the military operations of both sides and impartially apply international humanitarian law," he added.

The group reiterated its call for an impartial inquiry by the "highest authorities" of the United Nations.

Howen cautioned that a probe set up by the UN Human Rights Council into violations by Israel following a vote last week was not impartial.

Source

About headlines and content that has changed after it was added to this site - see disclaimer here

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.