The fact-finding mission established by the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi of Nigeria, on 3 April 2009 pursuant to the Human Rights Council resolution adopted at its Special Session on the Gaza conflict on 12 January, will travel to the region over the weekend and will be in Gaza as of the 1st of June and will remain there for about one week. The mission, which is headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, will enter Gaza from Egypt via the Rafah crossing point. Other field visits are being planned.
The mission plans to meet with all concerned parties, including non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations and groups, UN agencies, victims and witnesses of alleged violations and other persons who may provide information with regard to the facts under investigation.
Other mission members include Professor Christine Chinkin, Professor of International Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, who was a member of the High Level Fact Finding Mission to Bit Hanoun (2008); Ms. Hina Jilani, Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders, who was a member of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur (2004); and Colonel Desmond Travers, a former officer in the Irish Armed Forces and member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI). As is usual practice, the Mission is supported by a Secretariat provided by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Additional information on the fact-finding mission can be found at their website – http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/specialsession/9/FactFindingMission.htm
