29 Jan 2013

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL / ISRAEL

Israel Tuesday (29 January) boycotted a special U.N. Human Rights Council review of its rights situation, becoming the first country to snub such a session. CH UNTV

Posted at: January 29, 2013 1:57 pm

Duration: 02:12

Available in: SD

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STORY: HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL / ISRAEL
TRT: 2.12
SOURCE: CH UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 JANUARY 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

SHOTLIST

29 JANUARY– GENEVA SWITZERLAND

1. Exterior, Palais des Nations.
2. Cutaway, wide of Room XX ceiling tilt to floor, Human Rights Council, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
3. Cutaway, conference room TV monitor screen, Human Rights Council, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
4. Cutaway, empty seat Israel, Human Rights Council, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Remigiusz Henczel, President of the Human Rights Council:
 "We were to convene this afternoon to proceed with the review of Israel. However, I see that the delegation of Israel is not in the room. On 14 January, when the Council convened in an organizational session to proceed with the selection of troikas for the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth sessions, Israel was also absent. The troika for Israel was drawn in order not to preclude the holding of the review had Israel been present today. I must also inform you that following the telephone call of 10 January which I received from the Permanent Representative of Israel, on which I reported to you on 14 January, there have been no further communications from the permanent representative of Israel."
4. Cutaway, wide of Room XX, Human Rights Council, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Remigiusz Henczel, President of the Human Rights Council:
"If adopted the text would reschedule the UPR of Israel with a view to conducting it in 2013, as I mentioned at the very beginning, at the latest at the 17th session of the UPR Working Group.  Lastly, I would like to underline the fact that if adopted the decision would serve as a precedent to be applied in all similar circumstances of non-cooperation in the future."
6. Cutaway, wide of Room XX, Human Rights Council, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Remigiusz Henczel, President of the Human Rights Council:
"The decision is therefore adopted without a vote."
8. Cutaway, empty seat Israel, Human Rights Council, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
9. Cutaway, pan of room, Human Rights Council, Palais des Nations, Geneva.

STORYLINE

Israel Tuesday (29 January) boycotted a special U.N. Human Rights Council review of its rights situation, becoming the first country to snub such a session.
"We were to convene this afternoon to proceed with the review of Israel. However, I see that the delegation of Israel is not in the room," Human Rights Council President Remigiusz Henczel of Poland told the delegates at the United Nations in Geneva.
The Jewish state is not a member of the council but like all 193 U.N. countries it is required to undergo Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR) of its human rights situation.
Its absence on Tuesday however came as no surprise.  The move was expected as Israel has long been angered by what it claims is unfair criticism from the body. A decision last year to investigate Jewish settlements in the West Bank prompted Israel to announce it would no longer co-operate with the council.
A decision, adopted by consensus, was made by the Council to reschedule to October or November this year and calls on Israel to resume co-operation with the UPR mechanism.  Human rights experts fear other countries facing awkward questions might follow suit.