UN Must Condemn Stabbing of Gaza Rights Activist
NGO: UN must condemn stabbing of Palestinian activist who
criticized Hamas rights abuses
GENEVA, Jan. 17 - The stabbing in Gaza of a
Palestinian rights activist after he criticized the Hamas government for
torture, abuse and trampling free speech should be strongly
condemned by the United Nations – both as an attack on the
victim’s human rights, and on the idea of freedom of
expression, a Geneva-based monitoring group said
Tuesday.
“This latest attack on a rights activist
underscores the brutally enforced intolerance in Gaza for
any discourse other the anti-Israel mantras of Hamas, which
rules the strip with an iron fist,” said Hillel Neuer, UN
Watch executive director.
Masked attackers on Friday
stabbed Mahmud Abu Rahma multiple times in the back, leg and
shoulders, it was revealed today.
“The attack only
proves the truth of the victim's words," said Neuer.
Abu
Rahma's article had dared to criticize "the outrageous
attack upon free expression and peaceful assembly" by Hamas
over the past year, "hundreds of cases of torture and
abuse," and Hamas' cynical use of civilians for its combat
with Israel.
"The attack raises serious questions about
the ability of the Palestinians to create a democratic state
where people feel free to question their government without
fear of being seriously injured or killed for doing
so.
“The attack should be immediately denounced by Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and well as Irina Bokova, the director general of UNESCO, the world agency mandated to uphold press freedom.
“The attack is also serious enough for its implications that even the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, should personally condemn it. No democratically-minded Palestinian could ever hope to have a voice in an independent Palestine if such a reign of terror is allowed to persist.”
UN Watch’s call for UNESCO to act comes as the Geneva-based group heads a campaign comprising 55 parliamentarians, religious groups and prominent human rights activists that is calling on the organization’s executive board to reverse its November decision to place Syria on a pair of committees, one of them dealing with human rights.
www.unwatch.org
UN Watch is a
Geneva-based human rights organization founded in 1993 to
monitor UN compliance with the principles of its Charter. It
is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in
Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN
Department of Public Information (DPI).
ENDS