New Zealander To Head Gaza Flotilla Inquiry

By Peter Fowler at 2 Aug 2010

Former New Zealand prime minister, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, will serve as chair of a new UN panel of inquiry into Israel's deadly raid on a six-ship convoy in May that was carrying humanitarian goods and activists and heading for Gaza.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the panel of inquiry was an "unprecedented development."

Mr Ban said he had been engaged in intensive consultations for the past two months on setting up an inquiry into the tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of nine civilians and the wounding of at least 30 others.

The aid flotilla, which included three Turkish-registered vessels, was trying to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza, which has been subject to a three-year blockade by Israel for what it called security reasons after Hamas took power in the territory in 2007.

Sir Geoffrey will serve as chair of the panel and the outgoing President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, will be vice-chair.

The panel will have two additional members, one each from Israel and Turkey, and will begin its work on 10 August. It is expected to submit the first progress report by mid-September.

Mr Ban thanked the leaders of Israel and Turkey for their “spirit of compromise and forward-looking cooperation,” adding that he hoped today’s agreement will impact positively on the relationship between the two countries as well as the overall situation in the Middle East.

In addition to the panel announced today, the UN Human Rights Council has a three-member fact-finding mission investigating violations of international law resulting from the May incident.

The team, comprising Judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips of Trinidad and Tobago, Sir Desmond de Silva of the United Kingdom and Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia, was set up last month and is expected to report to the Council in September on its work.