Carter Center Urges All Parties to Heed Goldstone Report Recommendations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: In Atlanta: Deborah Hakes 404-420-5124

Atlanta, GA....The Carter Center urges all parties to heed the recommendations of the recent United Nations report on hostilities in and around Gaza from December 2008 to January 2009. The report is based on a fact-finding mission led by Richard Goldstone, respected South African judge and chief prosecutor for the International Tribunal for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Any controversy or criticisms of the report can be minimized by Israel and the Palestinians conducting their own investigations, as requested. Leading Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations have also called for this serious and independent follow-up action. It is expected that the international community, including the United States, will respect their obligations under the Geneva Conventions.

"The Goldstone report underscores the need for both sides to end the cycle of impunity for human rights abusers and address urgently the continued humanitarian crisis in Gaza," said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. "The victimization of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians must stop, as the report emphasizes. Ultimately, the only guarantee for ending the violence is a just peace in the region, for which U.S. leadership is critical."

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The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, the Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers to increase crop production.

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