Richard Goldstone

Richard Goldstone (born on the 26th October 1938) is a jurist and a former South African judge of Jewish origin. From 1985 to 2000, Justice Goldstone was National President of the National Institute of Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NICRO). ^[1] He was the former chief prosecutor for war-crime tribunals on Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. In 2009 The United Nations appointed Richard Goldstone to lead a fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip to investigate international human rights and humanitarian law violations.

"Judge Richard Goldstone, the head of a United Nations commission that charged Israel with committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip during its offensive there, believes bringing war criminals to justice stems from the lessons of the Holocaust, according to a lecture he delivered in Israel in 2000." [1]

I believe deeply in the rule of law and the laws of war, and the principle that in armed conflict civilians should to the greatest extent possible be protected from harm.^[2]

Awards[edit]

• The International Human Rights Award of the American Bar Association (1994)
• Honorary Doctorates of Law from universities in Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• In 2006 he shared with Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights.
• The MacArthur Award for International Justice (2008)

Goldstone is married to Noleen Goldstone and has two daughters. He is on the board of governors at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.^[3]

Gaza's UN report[edit]

The Goldstone Report was submitted to the UN Human Rights Council; On October 16, 2009, the Council voted in support of its findings.

The UN Human Rights Council has endorsed a UN report that accuses both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes in Gaza. The report by South African judge Richard Goldstone is most critical of Israel [2] for using “disproportionate force and of deliberately targeting civilians".

The report has been widely criticized as unfounded, based on rumors and guesswork, and even anti-semitic.^[4] On Aril 2011 Goldstone himself admitted that the conclusions of his report were erroneous.^[5]

References[edit]

1. ↑ http://www.ibanet.org/Document/Default.aspx?DocumentUid=7A1FEF17-C8E9-4336-8AA8-60BFE841B434
2. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/opinion/17goldstone.html
3. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7981538.stm
4. ↑ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3955417,00.html
5. ↑ Richard Goldstone continues his recantation - The Washington Post

See also[edit]

• Jeninitis
• Palestinian

External links[edit]

• Justice in Gaza
• Justice Richard Goldstone
• Judge named to lead Gaza inquiry is known for fairness
• Richard Goldstone's blog

Further reading[edit]

• Ben Wedeman: Access to Jenin difficult.