Electronic Intifada
In an attempt to justify its work servicing Israeli prisons and checkpoints, G4S has released what it calls an “independent review,” absolving the company of complicity in war crimes committed by Israel.
G4S’s desperation to shore up its failing reputation in the wake of boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign (BDS) successes against the company across Europe, South Africa and the US is evident, not just from the content of the report, but also in the choice of authors.
The report, “Human Rights Review of G4S Israel: Human
Rights Report and Legal Opinion,” is co-authored by two academics who
both have a strong and visible pro-Israel stance.
Guglielmo Verdirame, who wrote the legal section of the report, is professor of international law at King’s College, London.
In November 2012, as Israel was coming to the end of its eight day assault on Gaza, Verdirame wrote an article for BBC Online in which he defends Israel’s vicious, sustained attack on a refugee population in legal terms.
Three weeks earlier, he had presented the same
arguments, justifying Israel’s right to “self-defense” against the
stateless Palestinians, to a Zionist Federation event titled “Knowledge Seminar for Israel Advocates,” which took place in London.
The seminar was publicized as being “aimed at
grass-roots activists … to help fill in any gaps about core knowledge
surrounding Israel, in order to help them to be able to advocate for
Israel more effectively.”
The core knowledge being provided by Verdirame to pro-Israel activists was on the subject of “the use of force by Israel under international law.” His talk attempted to give legal sanction to Israel’s attacks, not just on Gaza, but against Lebanon, Syria and in the Sinai.
Verdirame was no doubt invited to speak by the Zionist
Federation because of his impeccable pro-Israel credentials. In
September 2011, he had chaired a UK Lawyers for Israel roundtable discussion
on the implications of the Palestinian bid for recognition as a state.
On its website, UK Lawyers for Israel states that its aim is to “invoke
laws and regulations to support Israel and oppose its enemies.”
No comments:
Post a Comment