Woman's NGO submits Goldstone Report to International Criminal Court

PRESS RELEASE
11/03/09

For Immediate Release
Contact:info@namaw.org

Muslim Women's NGO Submits Goldstone Report to International Criminal Court as part of Communication on situation in Gaza.


Washington DC: Today, the National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) submitted the "Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict" better known as the Goldstone Report to the International Criminal Court at the Hague in the Netherlands. The report was submitted via e-mail, and also priority mail as documentation and evidence in support of a communication submitted by the group entitled, "Communication on the situation in Gaza and the Goldstone Report."

Under the rules of the International Criminal Court, non state parties can submit Communications to the court that are taken up for analysis and assessment the same as referrals from the UNSC or UN member nation/states. According to article 53 of the Rome Statute, the only difference is that the Court is not automatically complelled to initiate an investigation into the situation brought to its attention as it must when the referral comes from the UN Security Council. The International Court must now review the Communication and the supporting documentaion and evidence, and decide if there is enough probable cause, and supporting documentation to compel an investigation.

Considering that the UNHRC recently endorsed the report, which alleges that Israel committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity in its December 2008 military assault on Gaza, the group is hoping that the court will find Goldstone's report sufficient evidence to compel an investigation, along with reports by the World Health Organization and international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Whereas the Goldstone report only called for action by the court if Israel refused to conduct an investigation of its own into the allegations made in the report, and failed to bring suspected persons to trial, the International Court is now seemingly involved as a result of the appeal made by NAMAW, a UN accredited NGO with the Division on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinians, for a Court assessment of the alleged facts and an investigation.

NAMAW Chairwoman Anisa Abd el Fattah says that the group has received confirmation from the Court that the Communication was successfully received. What is left now, is to see if the Court will find the Goldstone report as compelling as many, including the US and Israel might fear.

Along with the allegations of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity as mentioned in the Goldstone Report, the NAMAW communication also alleges that the economic embargo being imposed upon Gaza by Israel and Egypt is genocide, and that Israel also used banned weapons in its December 2008 assault, that included White Phosphorous, Depleted Uranium and the DIME which shoots small metal shards into flesh that cannot be removed with serious damage.

NAMAW's Communication to the Court and the supporting documentation will be viewable at the website, namaw.org.

The National Association of Muslim American Women (NAMAW) is the United State's first and only Muslim woman's pro-life and pro-family organization. We are an accredited NGO with the UN Division on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinians and members of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.

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