Ex-aide to Jimmy Carter named head of UN probe into Gaza clashes


Argentinian Santiago Canton replaces David Crane, who reportedly quit Human Rights Council panel after it emerged he had previously done advisory work for the Israeli government

Santiago Canton , the new head of UN probe

Raphael Ahrens writes in Times of Israel, “The United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday announced that Santiago Canton of Argentina will head the agency’s probe into the clashes at the Gaza border this summer. Santiago is replacing David Crane, who last month quit as head of the panel. He cited “personal reasons” for his surprising withdrawal, though he reportedly felt compelled to leave after it emerged that he had previously advised the Israeli government.”

“Canton, currently the secretary of human rights for the province of Buenos Aires, has focused his long career on human rights abuses in Latin America. He was the director of RFK Partners for Human Rights at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights and the executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Earlier in his career, he served as political assistant to former US president Jimmy Carter in democratic development programs in countries in Latin America. He also worked alongside former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, an outspoken Israel advocate, on a 2018 Organization of American States panel studying possible crimes against humanity committed by Venezuela.”

“Canton will preside over the three-member ‘Commission of Inquiry on the 2018 protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.’ The other members are Sara Hossain, a Bangladeshi lawyer educated in the UK, and Kaari Betty Murungi, a lawyer and human rights activist from Kenya.”…

“Sources told The Times of Israel that Crane withdrew from the probe after it emerged that he secretly advised the Israeli government on matters related to international law and the International Criminal Court. Crane did not respond to several emails asking for comment. The Foreign Minister, too, declined to comment on the matter. As opposed to the head of a previous UN Human Rights Council probe into Israeli-Palestinian violence, Israel did not publicly criticize Crane after he was appointed.” (more…)

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