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United Nations Fact Finding
Mission on the Gaza Conflict

Report of the United Nations Fact Finding
Mission on the Gaza Conflict (PDF)
Executive summary
(Advance 1):
English - French - Russian - Spanish - Arabic - Chinese
(PDF)
Conclusions and recommendations
(Advance 2):
English - French - Russian -
Spanish - Arabic
- Chinese
(PDF)
Presentation of the report of
the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza
Conflict to the Human Rights Council – 29 September 2009

Head of the UN Fact Finding
Mission Justice Richard Goldstone presented the report
of the Mission to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on
29 September 2009, urging the Council and the
international community as a whole to put an end to
impunity for violations of international law in Israel
and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Full text of statement by Justice Richard
Goldstone on behalf of the UN Fact Finding Mission on
the Gaza Conflict, delivered to the Human Rights
Council, 29 September 2009

Press release on presentation of report to
the Human Rights Council – English
Press release on presentation of report to
the Human Rights Council - Arabic
Press release on presentation of report to
the Human Rights Council – Hebrew

Webcasts are available of
the Human Rights Council. For the presentation of the
report of the Fact Finding Mission and the interactive
dialogue following it, see: http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/archive.asp?go=090929

Members of the Fact Finding
Mission gave a press conference on 29 September 2009 at
the Palais des Nations in Geneva. For a webcast of the
press conference, see: http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/pressconference/2009/PressConference_Goldstone_on_GazaConflict.rm
(57 minutes)

A transcript of the press conference is
also available

Launch of report

UN Fact Finding Mission finds
strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against
humanity committed during the Gaza conflict; calls for
end to impunity (Press
Release 15 September 2009)

Media summary of Report - English

Press Release 15 September 2009 –
Arabic
Media summary of Report - Arabic

Press Release 15 September 2009 –
Hebrew
Media summary of Report - Hebrew

Appointment of the
United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza
Conflict

On 3 April 2009, the
President of the Human Rights Council established an
international independent Fact Finding Mission with the
mandate “to investigate all violations of
international human rights law and international
humanitarian law that might have been committed at any
time in the context of the military operations that were
conducted in Gaza during the period from 27 December
2008 and 18 January 2009, whether before, during or
after.” [See press
release of 3 April 2009 and transcript of press
briefing]

The appointment of the
mission followed the adoption on 12 January 2009 of
resolution S-9/1 by the United Nations Human Rights
Council at the end of its 9th Special Session.

Resolution 9/1: Arabic | Chinese | English l French l Russian | Spanish

Mission
Members

The Mission is headed by
Justice Richard Goldstone, former
member of the South African Constitutional Court and
former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal
Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The three other mission
members are:

Professor Christine
Chinkin, Professor of International Law at the
London School of Economics and Political Science, who
was a member of the High Level Fact Finding Mission to
Beit Hanoun (2008);

Ms. Hina
Jilani, Advocate of the Supreme Court of
Pakistan and former Special Representative of the
Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders, who was a
member of the International Commission of Inquiry on
Darfur (2004);

and Colonel Desmond
Travers, a former officer in the Irish Armed
Forces and member of the Board of Directors of the
Institute for International Criminal Investigations
(IICI).

As is usual practice, the
Mission is supported by a Secretariat provided by the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR).

Bios for mission members

Mission Commences
Work

The Mission convened for the
first time on 4 May in Geneva. During the course of that
week, the four Members of the Mission held meetings with
a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including UN
Member States, non-governmental organizations and United
Nations agencies and bodies. The Mission also agreed on
its methodology and established its programme of work.
The Mission is required to submit its report
within three months.  [See press
release of 8 May 2009]

Call for
Submissions

The United Nations Fact
Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict is pleased to
invite all interested persons and organizations to
submit relevant information and documentation that will
assist in the implementation of the Mission's mandate.
Submissions should focus on events and conduct that
occurred in the context of the armed conflict that took
place between 27 December 2008 and 19 January 2009. The
Mission considers that, for the purposes of its mandate,
events since June 2008 are particularly relevant to the
conflict. More details are available in the Mission’s Call for
Submissions.

Field
Visits

In the course of its work, the Mission
Members have conducted two visits to Gaza. Despite
requests for the cooperation of the Government of
Israel, the Mission has been refused access to Israel
and the West Bank. The Mission has entered Gaza through
the Rafah crossing.

The first field visit by the Mission
Members was conducted to the Gaza Strip from 1-5 June
2009, during which they held meetings, conducted
interviews with victims and witnesses and visited the
sites of incidents. [See press
release, summary of press conference in Gaza
City and statement
by the President of the Human Rights
Council]. The Members of the Mission were
in Gaza again from 26 June to 1 July, during which time
they continued their investigations and held the
Mission’s public
hearings. Mission staff maintained a
presence in Gaza until early July.

Members of the Mission also traveled to
Amman, Jordan, from 1 to 4 July to interview witnesses
and meet with people and organizations from Israel and
the West Bank.

More details are available in the Mission’s Public Advance
Notice.

Public Hearings

As part of its investigation process,
the Mission held two sets of public hearings, in Gaza
City and in Geneva, during which nearly 40 witnesses,
victims and experts gave testimony. The aim of holding
the hearings publicly was to give a voice to those who
had direct experiences and expertise related to the
mandate of the Mission.

The public hearings in Gaza included
victims and experts from Gaza and took place on Sunday
28 and Monday 29 June 2009. [See press releases of 25 June and 29 June 2009.]

Those in Geneva included victims and
experts from Israel and the West Bank, as well as
military and legal experts, and were held on Monday 6
and Tuesday 7 July, 2009. [See press release of 7 July and summary of 7 July press
conference 2009]

The public hearings are webcast
by the United Nations and can be viewed by visiting the
webcast
archive.

High-resolution photographs of the
hearings can be viewed and downloaded from the Mission’s
FTP Server:

ftp://ftp.ohchr.org

username:
FFMG2009
password:     P433FF

(It is necessary to use UPPER CASE
characters in the username and password)

Transcripts of the Public
Hearings

28 June 2009, Gaza
City Morning Session

28 June 2009, Gaza
City Afternoon Session

29 June 2009, Gaza
City Morning Session

29 June 2009, Gaza
City Afternoon Session

6 July 2009, Geneva
Morning Session

6 July 2009, Geneva
Afternoon Session

7 July 2009, Geneva
Morning Session

7 July 2009, Geneva
Afternoon Session

Methodology

The Mission worked on the basis of
international human rights and humanitarian law and
international investigative standards developed by the
United Nations.

The Mission reviewed reports produced
by various organizations and institutions as well as
submissions on matters of fact and law relevant to its
inquiry. A notice has been issued to call for
submissions (see above).  The Mission consulted
with a wide range of interlocutors including victims and
witnesses, Palestinian, Israeli and international NGOs,
United Nations and other international organizations,
community organizations, human rights defenders, medical
and other professionals, legal and military experts,
authorities and other sources of reliable information
relevant to its mandate, within and outside Israel and
the occupied Palestinian territory.  The Mission
also held public hearings on
particular issues of concern related to its mandate.

Information-gathering methods included
the analysis of video and photographic images, including
satellite imagery: Satellite image analysis in
support to the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on
the Gaza Conflict.

Submission of
Report

The Report of the Mission will be
submitted to the Human Rights Council during its 12th
Session in September 2009 and presented to the Council
on 29
September.

Annual Reports of the HRC

5th
cycle (2010)
A/65/53 - E F S A C R

3rd
cycle (2008)
A/63/53 - E F S A C R
A/63/53/Add.1 - E F
S A C R

2nd
cycle (2007)
A/62/53 - E F S A C R

1st
cycle (2006)
A/61/53 - E F S A C R

NGO Participation

NGO
participation

NHRI information

NHRI
participationInfo
note on UPR

Organisational
Meeting

First
organisational meeting, 19-22 June 2007

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