AN ALLIANCE of human rights groups called on the UN Committee on Human Rights to condemn Israel for torture, the administrative detention of Palestinians without trial and for the omission, in a 369-page report presented by Israel to the UN Committee yesterday, of any mention of serious violations of human rights in the Palestinian territories.
The Committee, made up of 18 experts, met yesterday in Geneva to consider Israel's report and is expected to present its conclusions by the end of July.
London-based Amnesty International and New York based Human Rights Watch said the report "seriously misrepresented Israel's human rights record." The omission of the plight of Palestinians was unacceptable, it continued, given the scale and seriousness of the violations committed by Israeli troops.
Several non-governmental organisations, including the International Human Rights Federation and a number of Israeli groups have condemned the report, singling out Israel's "hostage taking" of some 20 Lebanese, held for the eventual exchange of Israeli soldiers captured in action, for particular criticism. They also accused Israel of sending agents to assassinate Palestinian leaders abroad.
The report is the first presented by Israel since it ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1991.
Assad in France
SYRIAN President Hafez Al-Assad begins today a three-day visit to France, his first to a Western country in 22 years, seeking an alternative to American mediation in negotiations with Israel. The talks with French President Jacques Chirac are expected to deal with the deadlock in the Middle East peace process and the situation in southern Lebanon in addition to bilateral relations, AP reported.
The Syrian newspaper Tishrin said in a commentary yesterday that across the Arab world hopes were running high for a more active European role in breaking the impasse in the peace process. For its part, France sees the visit as another opportunity to show that it wants to participate in Arab-Israeli negotiations, either on its own or within the context of European Union efforts.
