Richard Goldstone schijnt tot voor kort bestuurslid van Human Rights Watch te zijn geweest, dat zich onlangs gedwongen zag om een militair expert en medewerker van diverse rapporten over Israel te ontslaan, omdat hij nazi relikwieën verzamelt in zijn vrije tijd en hier zelfs een boek aan heeft gewijd. Andere leden van HRW bleken een verleden te hebben van anti-Israel activisme.
RP
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NGO Monitor: Gaza war probe tainted by anti-Israel ideology
By Cnaan Liphshiz -Haaretz
NGO Monitor: Gaza war probe tainted by anti-Israel ideology
By Cnaan Liphshiz -Haaretz
September 08, 2009
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1113207.html
A group of Israeli researchers on Tuesday questioned the objectivity, integrity and professionalism of the international body Human Right's Watch based on findings from the first comprehensive study into the activities of the organization.
They added the report casts doubt as to the neutrality of the Goldstone Commission on Gaza.
Human Rights Watch said the accusation was "misleading" and reflected a "deep misunderstanding" of its role.
The 80-page study by the Jerusalem-based organization NGO Monitor speaks of "major flaws in the focus on Israel" by HRW. The Israeli organization noted that Richard Goldstone, the head of a UN team investigating alleged war crimes in Gaza, had been a HRW board member until recently.
"Although Goldstone resigned, his statements have strongly echoed and defended HRW's bias, particularly over Gaza," NGO Monitor said in a statement about the study.
"Goldstone's strong identification with Human Rights Watch forms the political foundation for his biased inquiry," said Professor Gerald Steinberg, NGO Monitor's founder. The Goldstone Commission is due to release its findings in the next few weeks.
In the study, Steinberg and his researchers gave profiles of HRW's Middle East division staff, "which is led by ideologues with a history of pro-Palestinian activism, rather than human rights experts," according to the report's authors.
The Middle East division is headed by Sarah Leah Whitson, who participated in the Caterpillar Israel boycott campaign, and in a HRW fundraising trip to Saudi Arabia. Deputy Director Joe Stork, according to the report, participated in a "Zionism and Racism" conference in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, before joining HRW.
In its full reaction, HRW said NGO Monitor's report contained "errors of fact and misleading analysis," preferring "personal attacks" on its staff to "addressing the findings of human rights violations."
Kenneth Roth, HRW's executive director, called Steinberg "a consultant to the Israeli Foreign Ministry." Steinberg said that in the past, he has consulted for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on issues unrelated to NGOs, but is no longer a consultant.
According to Roth, Human Rights Watch receives no government funds. But Steinnberg's research on HRW showed it is has received funding to the tune of $900,000 from NOVIB, a body funded by the Dutch government.
Roth told Haaretz that Steinberg's report is part of the Netanyahu government's "battle on critics," aimed at "deflecting attention" from "unnecessary" civilian deaths in Gaza. "NGO Monitor has yet to show any of our findings to be wrong," he said, adding his organization seeks out "as many viewpoints as possible."
He added that HRW has published dozens of reports on abuses by Middle Eastern governments, including Egypt, Iran, Libya and Saudi Arabia.
But the report's Israeli authors also accuse HRW of "methodological failures" that "violate" the fact-finding guidelines of the International Bar Association. These reports, they said, "rely on unreliable eyewitnesses and consistently confuse speculation with fact," while "omitting evidence" such as videos showing Hamas and Hezbollah using human shields.
Steinberg named HRW's investigation into the alleged firing by IDF troops on Gazans flying white flags. "The Abd Rabbo family, on whom the first incident depends, has given 14 different versions of their story since January," Steinberg said.
An analysis of 2008 publications using a weighted quantitative methodology showed, according to the study, that HRW focused more attention on Israel than on Iran, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and others. "Since 2000, HRW has called 68 times for independent investigations against Israel," Steinberg added. "There is no parallel regarding any other country."
"Human rights values and research standards have been replaced by ideology," Steingberg concluded. "The Middle East division of this powerful organization needs a full and systemic overhaul, to recover its moral foundation and relevance in promoting human rights, particularly in repressive regimes."
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1113207.html
A group of Israeli researchers on Tuesday questioned the objectivity, integrity and professionalism of the international body Human Right's Watch based on findings from the first comprehensive study into the activities of the organization.
They added the report casts doubt as to the neutrality of the Goldstone Commission on Gaza.
Human Rights Watch said the accusation was "misleading" and reflected a "deep misunderstanding" of its role.
The 80-page study by the Jerusalem-based organization NGO Monitor speaks of "major flaws in the focus on Israel" by HRW. The Israeli organization noted that Richard Goldstone, the head of a UN team investigating alleged war crimes in Gaza, had been a HRW board member until recently.
"Although Goldstone resigned, his statements have strongly echoed and defended HRW's bias, particularly over Gaza," NGO Monitor said in a statement about the study.
"Goldstone's strong identification with Human Rights Watch forms the political foundation for his biased inquiry," said Professor Gerald Steinberg, NGO Monitor's founder. The Goldstone Commission is due to release its findings in the next few weeks.
In the study, Steinberg and his researchers gave profiles of HRW's Middle East division staff, "which is led by ideologues with a history of pro-Palestinian activism, rather than human rights experts," according to the report's authors.
The Middle East division is headed by Sarah Leah Whitson, who participated in the Caterpillar Israel boycott campaign, and in a HRW fundraising trip to Saudi Arabia. Deputy Director Joe Stork, according to the report, participated in a "Zionism and Racism" conference in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, before joining HRW.
In its full reaction, HRW said NGO Monitor's report contained "errors of fact and misleading analysis," preferring "personal attacks" on its staff to "addressing the findings of human rights violations."
Kenneth Roth, HRW's executive director, called Steinberg "a consultant to the Israeli Foreign Ministry." Steinberg said that in the past, he has consulted for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on issues unrelated to NGOs, but is no longer a consultant.
According to Roth, Human Rights Watch receives no government funds. But Steinnberg's research on HRW showed it is has received funding to the tune of $900,000 from NOVIB, a body funded by the Dutch government.
Roth told Haaretz that Steinberg's report is part of the Netanyahu government's "battle on critics," aimed at "deflecting attention" from "unnecessary" civilian deaths in Gaza. "NGO Monitor has yet to show any of our findings to be wrong," he said, adding his organization seeks out "as many viewpoints as possible."
He added that HRW has published dozens of reports on abuses by Middle Eastern governments, including Egypt, Iran, Libya and Saudi Arabia.
But the report's Israeli authors also accuse HRW of "methodological failures" that "violate" the fact-finding guidelines of the International Bar Association. These reports, they said, "rely on unreliable eyewitnesses and consistently confuse speculation with fact," while "omitting evidence" such as videos showing Hamas and Hezbollah using human shields.
Steinberg named HRW's investigation into the alleged firing by IDF troops on Gazans flying white flags. "The Abd Rabbo family, on whom the first incident depends, has given 14 different versions of their story since January," Steinberg said.
An analysis of 2008 publications using a weighted quantitative methodology showed, according to the study, that HRW focused more attention on Israel than on Iran, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and others. "Since 2000, HRW has called 68 times for independent investigations against Israel," Steinberg added. "There is no parallel regarding any other country."
"Human rights values and research standards have been replaced by ideology," Steingberg concluded. "The Middle East division of this powerful organization needs a full and systemic overhaul, to recover its moral foundation and relevance in promoting human rights, particularly in repressive regimes."
"Andere leden van HRW bleken een verleden te hebben van anti-Israel activisme." Is daarmee alles wat HRW over Israël zegt verkeerd (trouwens ze hebben ook een hard oordeel over Hamas uitgesproken i.v.m. de ontvoering van Gilad Shalit)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenNGO Monitor heeft een verleden als groep van pro-Israël activisten... Wat zou dat dan over hun analyse zeggen??
HRW presenteert zich als neutraal, maar aangezien het voor een groot deel uit anti-Israel activisten bestaat klopt daar dus niks van. Daarmee is wat zij over Israel zeggen dus duidelijk gekleurd en geen objectieve informatie zoals het wel vaak in de media wordt gepresenteerd. Als u ruzie heeft met uw buurman en u stapt naar een bemiddelaar of zelfs een rechter om het op te lossen, van verwacht u toch ook dat die neutraal is? U zou het toch zeker niet accepteren als die een oude vriend van uw buurman blijkt te zijn?
BeantwoordenVerwijderenDe meeste media beschouwen en behandelen NGO Monitor als een pro-Israel lobbygroep en HRW als een objectieve bron. Dat beeld is dus misleidend: mensenrechtengroepen hebben OOK een politieke bril op, met de nodige kleuring en blinde vlekken, althans veel van hun medewerkers. De één heeft niet noodzakelijk altijd gelijk en de ander ongelijk.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenJuist omdat HRW er belang aan hecht gehoord te worden als onbevooroordeelde instantie, is het voor hen heel belangrijk om ook zo eerlijk mogelijk te rapporteren. Dus zelfs als ze al een politieke bril op zouden hebben (ze hebben eerder een mensenrechtenbril op, en dat wordt al snel voor "links" versleten), zullen ze wel oppassen om ongecontroleerde informatie de wereld in te sturen. Aan het verzorgen van desinformatie heeft HRW helemaal niets... NGO Monitor daarentegen...
BeantwoordenVerwijderen