The head of a UN inquiry into the 50-day war in Gaza last year has resigned after Israel accused him of a “conflict of interest”, the UN said on Tuesday. Canadian international law expert William Schabas sent a resignation letter to the head of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday after Israel accused him of having a “conflict of interest,” said council spokesman Rolando Gomez. In his letter, Schabas explained that Israel’s complaint was linked to a brief legal opinion he had prepared for the PlO in October, 2012.
“The complaint about my brief consultancy, as I understand it, is not about the content, which is of a technical legal nature, but the implication that in some way I am henceforth beholden to the Palestinian liberation Organisation,” he wrote.
While flatly rejecting that, Schabas said that “under the circumstances and with great regret, I believe the important work of the commission is best served if I resign with immediate effect.”
Gomez told reporters in Geneva that the president of the Human Rights Council had “accepted the resignation of Professor Schabas and thanks him for his work over the past six months as chair of the commission.”
“The president respects the decision of Professor Schabas and appreciates that in this way even an appearance of conflict of interest is avoided, thus preserving the integrity of the process,” he added.