British, Palestinian organizations Urge UN, EU to restrict Israel
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 5/27/2006

British and Palestinian HR organizations called on UN and EU officials to work restricting the Israeli illegal policy imposed against HR activists.

The British Hickman & Rose (H&R) and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) called on "the EU to follow the lead set by the Non-Aligned Movement of States at the UN in preventing suspected Israeli war criminals, in particular settlers, access to those countries," according to a press release issued yesterday by PCHR in Gaza.

The call was launched as the Israeli authorities prevented the British HR activist Kate Maynard from accessing to Israel.

Ms. Maynard was behind the war-crimes charges against retired Israeli Major-General Doron Almog upon his arrival in Britain last September.

Maynard arrived in Israel Wednesday night to take part in an academic seminar on International Justice. In wake of the Israel's ruling to ban her entry, the British attorney decided not to submit another petition to court.

The two human rights organizations called the EU Heads of Missions in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to fulfill their role under the EU guidelines on human rights defenders and make representations regarding the poor treatment of Ms Maynard and other international human rights defenders whose work is being interfered with on a daily basis.

They also urged upon Hina Jilani, the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders to lodge a complaint with the Israeli authorities regarding this case.

According to the press release, PCHR and H&R will work even harder to try to ensure that this unjustified interference with the rights of Palestinian victims to access to justice, specifically to receive legal assistance, will not have any impact on the international pursuit, capture, remand, trial and (if found guilty) imprisonment of suspected Israeli war criminals.

"The decision to deny Kate Maynard access to Israel is an obvious attempt to prevent this work from continuing and further cases being prepared. It is another example of Israel acting to secure impunity for alleged war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory. It also constitutes an astonishing attack on Kate Maynard's right to impart legal information to professional colleagues in the region, who are fighting against impunity, and their right to receive such information," PCHR said.

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