Human Rights Watch hypocritical in its criticism of UN Human Rights Councils bias against Israel
In a press release of September 18, coinciding with the second session of the new U.N. Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch criticized the Council for ignoring humanitarian crises in Darfur and Sri Lanka. Peggy Hicks, HRW’s Global Advocacy Director, said "if the Human Rights Council fails again to address human rights crises beyond those involving Israel, its credibility may be damaged beyond repair." However, HRW itself condemned Israeli and American demands for further reform of the Human Rights Council when it was created in March 2006. HRW regularly focuses disproportionately on alleged Israeli infractions of human rights to the detriment of serious human rights crises around the world, thereby setting a precedent for the UNHRC.
HRW also maintained its focus on Israel in the aftermath of the recent conflict in Lebanon. On September 22, HRW called on the Israeli governmental investigative committee to "examine the decisions and policies that led to the large number of Lebanese civilian casualties." HRW also produced a compilation of its material on Israel’s use of cluster bombs during the conflict with Lebanon in July and August 2006.
