The Goldstone Report: The UN Blood Libel

The Tomuschat—McGowan Davis Follow-up Reports

The Judges



Mary McGowan-Davis,
Head of the Commission
(December 2010 - March 2011)

Mary McGowan-Davis was on the board of the American Association for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) when she was appointed to the Committee of independent experts, and remained on the ICJ board throughout her tenure.

The ICJ has been closely connected with the Human Rights Council's campaign to vilify Israel over the Gaza war, and in particular, the Goldstone report and its follow-up. In January 2009 the Council held a special session to denounce Israeli actions and adopt the resolution that gave rise to the Goldstone inquiry. Of the thousands of UN-accredited NGOs, the ICJ was one of two-dozen that spoke. It claimed Israel had violated international law during the conflict and called for the inquiry's creation. Then, on October 16, 2009, when the Council held a special session to endorse the Goldstone report, the ICJ was again one of the few NGO speakers. This time it specifically called the Israeli investigations into the Gaza conflict "ineffective as they lack safeguards of independence and impartiality..." (the same issues that McGowan-Davis was charged with determining). On June 24, 2010, soon after the appointment of McGowan-Davis (and the other two members of the Goldstone follow-up committee which were also both closely connected to the ICJ), the ICJ issued a public statement coming to the defense of Goldstone, his apartheid-era past, and his report.

Not only has the ICJ already expressed an opinion on the subject to be assessed, in its statements it claims that the prosecution and punishment of Israeli "civilian leaders and military commanders" for Goldstone's list of crimes is "essential" to conform to those standards.



Lennart Aspegren,
Member of the Commission
(December 2010-March 2011)
(Aspegren is on the right standing beside his friend and former colleague on the Rwanda Criminal Tribunal, Navi Pillay, now UN High Commissioner for Human Rights)

Lennart Aspegren was appointed to this job by the High Commissioner Navi Pillay, his former colleague. Aspegren and Pillay were both elected to the Rwandan Criminal Tribunal at the same time in 1995, frequently assigned to the same three-judge chamber, and worked as full-time colleagues until 1999. In addition, both cooperated closely with Richard Goldstone, then the prosecutor of the Rwandan Criminal Tribunal.

Aspegren was selected to serve on delegations of the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC) - a Swedish based organization - while Goldstone was on its governing body. In 2009 the ILAC (and two other organizations) awarded its first-ever Stockholm Human Rights Award to Richard Goldstone. In 2010 the same group gave the award to Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and an outspoken champion of the Goldstone report. In her acceptance speech she singled out Aspegren for individual praise. Shortly thereafter, Aspegren was given the Goldstone-follow-up post.



The Tomuschat*Goldstone Follow-up Judges




Christian Tomuschat,
Head of the Commission
(June 2010-December 2010)

German jurist Christian Tomuschat provided legal advice to the PLO. In 1996 he helped prepare a brief for PLO leader Yasser Arafat concerning the international law aspects of the peace process. His brief encouraged Arafat to bring his political warfare against Israel to the UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice. (see UN Goldstone Commission Member Equates Israel with Terrorists)

In a 2007 interview to a German newspaper Tomuschat said: "Israel killed the spiritual leader of Hamas in 2004, Sheikh Yassin with a missile, killing eight...Targeted killings are as ruthless as the attacks of terrorists." When asked in the same interview if Israel's targeted killings constitute "state terrorism," Tomuschat said: "It is very much in that direction." Tomuschat also considers Israel's security fence to be unlawful in its efforts to stop Palestinian terror attacks against its population. (see German UN Gaza war Investigator bias against Israel)



Mary McGowan-Davis,
Member of the Commission
(June 2010-December 2010)

Mary McGowan-Davis is currently on the board of the American Association for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).

The ICJ has been closely connected with the Human Rights Council's campaign to vilify Israel over the Gaza war, and in particular, the Goldstone report and its follow-up. In January 2009 the Council held a special session to denounce Israeli actions and adopt the resolution that gave rise to the Goldstone inquiry. Of the thousands of UN-accredited NGOs, the ICJ was one of two-dozen that spoke. It claimed Israel had violated international law during the conflict and called for the inquiry's creation. Then, on October 16, 2009, when the Council held a special session to endorse the Goldstone report, the ICJ was again one of the few NGO speakers. This time it specifically called the Israeli investigations into the Gaza conflict "ineffective as they lack safeguards of independence and impartiality..." (the same issues that McGowan-Davis was charged with determining). On June 24, 2010, soon after the appointment of McGowan-Davis (and the other two members of the Goldstone follow-up committee which were also both closely connected to the ICJ), the ICJ issued a public statement coming to the defense of Goldstone, his apartheid-era past, and his report.

Not only has the ICJ already expressed an opinion on the subject to be assessed, in its statements it claims that the prosecution and punishment of Israeli "civilian leaders and military commanders" for Goldstone's list of crimes is "essential" to conform to those standards.



Param Cumaraswamy,
Member of the Commission
(June 2010-December 2010)

Param Cumaraswamy was the vice-president of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) until 2006 and is currently an honorary member.

The ICJ has been closely connected with the Human Rights Council's campaign to vilify Israel over the Gaza war, and in particular, the Goldstone report and its follow-up. In January 2009 the Council held a special session to denounce Israeli actions and adopt the resolution that gave rise to the Goldstone inquiry. Of the thousands of UN-accredited NGOs, the ICJ was one of two-dozen that spoke. It claimed Israel had violated international law during the conflict and called for the inquiry's creation. Then, on October 16, 2009, when the Council held a special session to endorse the Goldstone report, the ICJ was again one of the few NGO speakers. This time it specifically called the Israeli investigations into the Gaza conflict "ineffective as they lack safeguards of independence and impartiality..." (the same issues that McGowan-Davis was charged with determining). On June 24, 2010, soon after the appointment of McGowan-Davis (and the other two members of the Goldstone follow-up committee which were also both closely connected to the ICJ), the ICJ issued a public statement coming to the defense of Goldstone, his apartheid-era past, and his report.

Not only has the ICJ already expressed an opinion on the subject to be assessed, in its statements it claims that the prosecution and punishment of Israeli "civilian leaders and military commanders" for Goldstone's list of crimes is "essential" to conform to those standards.