Michael Lynk, the U.N. Special Rapporteur tasked with investigating alleged Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights, told an international conference that the U.N. should examine Israel’s “status and membership” in the organization, whose resolutions the Jewish state “persistently defies.”
In the 1980s, Iran, Libya and Syria were among several Arab and Muslim countries which introduced annual motions to deny Israel’s credentials in the U.N. General Assembly.
Speaking by via Skype, Lynk addressed a conference last week in Baku, Azerbaijan, organized by the U.N.’s Palestinian division, together with the 56-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
“The United Nations General Assembly is in a position to commission legal studies designed to bring Israel into compliance with the United Nations’ body of resolutions on Jerusalem,” said Lynk.
These studies should include a “legal study into the status and membership of a UN member that persistently defies the direction of the Security Council and/or the General Assembly.”
When Lynk was asked about violations of human rights law and humanitarian law committed by parties other than Israel, he said that “while his own mandate did not currently extend to such violations, he was considering recommending such an extension to the Human Rights Council. It would ultimately be up to that body to do so,” he said.
These studies should include a “legal study into the status and membership of a UN member that persistently defies the direction of the Security Council and/or the General Assembly.”
When Lynk was asked about violations of human rights law and humanitarian law committed by parties other than Israel, he said that “while his own mandate did not currently extend to such violations, he was considering recommending such an extension to the Human Rights Council. It would ultimately be up to that body to do so,” he said.
