Tories' Israel policy damaging: UN rapporteur Siding with Israel hurts Canada's role as a "fair and balanced interpreter" of events: Falk By Laura Payton Published September 30, 2009

View story Email Comments To the Editor

Canada has damaged its moral reputation since the Conservative government took sides in Israel's conflict with Hamas last winter in the Gaza Strip, says the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian Territories.

Richard Falk also said a move to cut aid to the UN agency that does relief work in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem would be untimely and ultimately interpreted as complicity with the continuing Israeli blockade of Gaza. Mr. Falk said such a move would further weaken Canada's moral and diplomatic leverage, especially in relation to this conflict.

"I think Canada has a great potential role as one of the most respected countries, with strong internationalist credentials. But on these issues, the present government has not pursued a helpful policy, in my view," Mr. Falk said in an interview with Embassy last week.

"It has damaged Canada's moral reputation most dramatically by coming out in full support of Israel's unlawful attack on Gaza last winter, where the whole international community viewed this attack as a moral and legal outrage. Only the United States and Canada, as far as I know, were unconditionally supportive so that if Canada is to play a constructive role, it has to re-establish its credentials as a fair and balanced interpreter of the developments that affect both sides."

The Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pushed a staunchly pro-Israel position since taking office. In the 2006 war between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon, Mr. Harper called Israel's retaliation "measured." The bombing severely damaged Lebanese infrastructure and killed about a thousand people, many civilians caught in the warzone.

Last December and January, when Israel launched a three-week ground and air campaign against Hamas, killing between 1,100 and 1,500 Palestinians, the Canadian government put the blame for the conflict squarely on Hamas' continuing assault on Israel. Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon issued a statement that called for a halt to "all rocket attacks on Israel" and said that "Canada maintains that the rocket attacks are the cause of this crisis." Thirteen Israelis died in the conflict.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Cannon's office says Mr. Cannon stated Israel has a clear right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks that "deliberately targeted innocent civilians."

"Canada called on all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the need to protect civilian populations...on both sides," wrote Natalie Sarafian, in an email this week, adding that Hamas is a terrorist group under the Canadian Criminal Code.

"Canada supports Israel's right to live in peace with its neighbours within secure boundaries and efforts towards the creation of a future Palestinian state as part of a comprehensive peace settlement."

As the special rapporteur, Mr. Falk reports once a year to the UN General Assembly and once a year to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Israel's compliance with international human rights law in the Palestinian Territories.

Mr. Falk praised the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides aid to the Palestinian Territories. Rumours abound that the Canadian International Development Agency may cut its donations to UNRWA. At an appearance by International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda at the House Foreign Affairs committee last spring, Liberal MP Bernard Patry, Liberal Foreign Affairs critic Bob Rae and NDP Foreign Affairs critic Paul Dewar questioned the government's plans for the funding.

Mr. Falk says any move to cut UNRWA funding would be "a most unfortunate development."

"UNRWA has been performing, under very difficult conditions, vital humanitarian services for the 1.5 million people living in Gaza under extraordinary conditions of deprivation with respect to food, fuel, medicine, as well as normal conditions of life," Mr. Falk said.

"It's one of the areas, in my view, that the UN has distinguished itself by doing things that no state or political actor can do. One would have hoped that countries like Canada consider increasing their commitment rather than the reverse."

At her committee appearance, Ms. Oda wouldn't rule out cutting funding to UNRWA. She said she had "some questions about UNRWA" after the UN reported an UNRWA school was bombed directly during the conflict last January.

"I asked the head of UNRWA why it took three weeks to correct that report: the schools themselves weren't bombed, and the bombing was happening outside of the schools," Ms. Oda told the committee on May 27.

"We do support UNRWA, but it doesn't mean that we don't question or that we don't ensure that any organization that we support is totally reliable, can meet the expectations, and can serve us as well as the people they're there to serve.

"I've even had a conversation with Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations. He indicated that Canada was not the only country expressing some concerns about UNRWA," Ms. Oda added in response to a follow-up question.

Ms. Oda's spokesman said in an email that there are currently no plans to cut funding to UNRWA, but that CIDA is continuously reviewing its aid to ensure it's "effective, focused and accountable.

"So far in 2009, Canada has contributed $5 million in funding to help UNRWA provide emergency assistance in Gaza, and to provide humanitarian assistance to some 30,000 Palestinian refugees in northern Lebanon," wrote Jean-Luc Benoit.

"CIDA is continuously reviewing all of its programming to ensure that aid is effective, focused and accountable," he added.

Mr. Falk called for an open debate on Middle East policy in Canada.

"The whole region is subject to becoming a war zone. It is therefore extremely important for responsible diplomacy to take place and to be based not only on domestic politics but on a real assessment of the alternatives and risks that are associated with one-sided policies," Mr. Falk said.

lpayton@embassymag.ca