Quartet failing the Palestinians - UN envoy

UN human rights envoy John Dugard has disclosed that he will urge the world body to withdraw from the "Quartet" of Middle East mediators unless it properly addresses Palestinian human rights.

During an interview on Monday, Dugard accused the Quartet of the US, Russia, EU and UN of failing to engage properly on human rights as well as on dealing with the "current rift" between rival Palestinian parties.

"In my most recent report to the General Assembly, which I will present later this month, I will suggest that the secretary general withdraw the UN from the Quartet, if the Quartet fails to have regard to the human rights situation in the Palestinian Territories," he told the BBC.

In his role as a UN special rapporteur, Dugard has been visiting the West Bank and Gaza for the past seven years, but his position does not enable him to make any decisions on UN policy, only to advise and offer critical analysis.

The retired South African professor of international law said the UN "does itself little good by remaining a member of the Quartet." The weak response by the quartet, he suggested, was because it was "heavily influenced" by the US.

The rift between Hamas and Fatah was threatening the Palestinians' right to self-determination and the UN "should be playing the role of the mediator," he suggested.

In a report released in February this year, Dugard compared Israel's policies with those that resembled apartheid.

"It is difficult to resist the conclusion that many of Israel's laws and practices violate the 1966 Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination," the report said.