UN Commission of Inquiry on the Gaza Conflict

Gaza Commission of Inquiry Members

On July 23, 2014 the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HCR) requested the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to

.. to urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry ... to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, in the context of the military operations conducted since 13 June 2014... [1]

The mission of the Commission of Inquiry is to

... make recommendations, in particular on accountability measures, all with a view to avoiding and ending impunity and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable, and on ways and means to protect civilians against any further assaults, ... [2]

Current Commissioners:

• Mary McGowan Davis (United States of America), Chair
• Doudou Diène (Senegal)

A third commissioner, original Chair William Schabas of Canada, resigned in February 2015.

Notes:

1. Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, The United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict

2. Report of the independent international commission of inquiry established pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution S - 21/1, March 26, 2015.

Thankful for Social Security

Thankful for the Social Security safety net that helps keep people from becoming too desperate. (And we all know that desperate people do desperate things).

THEN... there's Obama's so-called "Bipartisan" Deficit Commission, led by two people with a track record of wanting to cut Social Security, for which I'm not thankful.

Cartoonist Tom Tomorrow pokes a hole in the "we're living longer" justification for raising the retirement age. Just who are "we," people with low-paid hard-labor jobs and little or no healthcare, or people with high-paid desk jobs and good healthcare? Click Cartoon to Enlarge.


Sources:

Thankful for GLH Blog for the tip-off.

Thankful for Salon.Com for hosting Tom Tomorrow.