UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon has informed the Security Council of his intention to establish a commission to look into Israel's bombing of UN facilities in Gaza, the Council's president said on Monday.
The UN chief made the announcement in a closed-door briefing to the Security Council about his recent overseas visit to Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Japanese UN Ambassador Yukio Takasu told reporters.
Ban said that he will inform the Council of the panel's composition in the next few days and that a report will be presented to the Council on the its findings, Takasu said.
Palestine's UN observer Riyad Mansour told reporters that the commission will be composed of four individuals and a member of the Secretariat and will be headed by Ian Martin, a former president of Amnesty International and the current special representative of the secretary-general in Nepal for the UN Mission there.
"The fact that the secretary-general will report back to the Council is another indication that the Council will remain engaged on this phase of investigation of the crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people and the properties of the United Nations, and the crimes against humanity," Mansour said, adding that Ban's move is "a step in the right direction of investigating crimes committed by Israel."
When the commission submits its report to the Security Council, it will be the responsibility of the Council to decide what to do with it, he said.
Mansour also said that the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which had also decided to establish a commission, "maybe in the final stages of putting that commission together to go and have a larger scope investigation."
On Jan. 12, UNHRC adopted a resolution strongly condemning the Israeli military operation in Gaza, and decided to dispatch a fact- finding mission to investigate human rights violations committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
UNHRC also requested Ban to investigate the Israeli attacks against UN facilities in Gaza, including schools, which have resulted in the killing of tens of Palestinian civilians, including women and children.
Following the Israeli attacks against UN premises in Gaza, which came amid the 22-day military offensive that Israel said was aimed to stop rocket firings by Palestinian militants, Ban conveyed "strong protest and outrage" to the Israeli government and demanded a "full explanation."
(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2009)