[I]nvestigate 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.[1]
With the above mandate from the United Nationsí Human Rights Council, the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Mission) undertook a review of actions by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF); the Palestinian Authority; Hamas, which governs Gaza; and Palestinian armed groups during the IDF military campaign, ìOperation Cast Lead.î[2] Justice Richard Goldstone of South Africa headed the Mission which, in September 2009, submitted its report,[3] commonly referred to as the Goldstone Report.[4]
The 575 page report found fault with all sides. According to the Mission, the Palestinian armed groupsí use of indiscriminate mortar and rocket attacks constituted war crimes that ìmay amount to crimes against humanity.î[5] Similarly, the Gaza security services ìcarried out extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrest, detention and ill treatment.î[6] But the overwhelming majority of the report, and associated criticism, was directed at the IDF. The report concluded that the IDFís conduct violated a wide range of international norms through deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, use of human shields, unjustified detention, and destruction of property. As a result, the Mission determined that Israel violated its obligations under several international instruments, including the International Covenant in Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Perhaps most significantly, the report found that Israel committed grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, which gives rise to individual criminal responsibility.