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Human Rights Watch: Israel Dropped Cluster Bombs on Civilians in
Lebanon in Violation of Geneva Conventions
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
Speaking from Beirut, human rights investigator Peter Bouckaert
tells Democracy Now: "We're very concerned that Israel is using
these indiscriminate weapons it's unacceptable and a violation of
the Geneva Conventions because these are indiscriminate and very
very dangerous weapons." [includes rush transcript]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
The United Nations has launched an emergency appeal for the
international community to help the people of Lebanon. Emergency
Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said $150 million is needed urgently.
A total of about 800,000 people have been forced to flee their
homes. Food, water, fuel and medical supplies are running out in
parts of the country. The UN says entire communities have been cut
off because Israel has systemtically destroyed the country's
networks of roads and bridges. Meanwhile, questions are being raised
as to whether Israel is violating international law. On Sunday, UN
High Commissioner Louise Arbour told CNN Israel's actions in Lebanon
could lead to the prosecution of its military commanders. Meanwhile,
Human Rights Watch says Israel is shelling civilian areas with
cluster bombs. On Monday, Democracy Now reached Peter Bouckaert.
He's the emergencies director for Human Rights Watch, currently in
Beirut. He talked about the humanitarian situation on the ground, as
well as the situation for Lebanon's hundreds of thousands of
refugees.
Peter Bouckaert-Emergencies Director for Human Rights Watch
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
This transcript is available free of charge. However, donations help
us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our
TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution.
Donate - $25, $50, $100, more...
AMY GOODMAN: On Monday, Democracy Now! reached Peter Bouckaert. He
is the Emergencies Director for Human Rights Watch, currently in
Beirut. He began by talking about the humanitarian situation on the
ground.
PETER BOUCKAERT: Well, I've been working in war zones for Human
Rights Watch for the last decade almost, from Kosovo to Afghanistan
and Iraq and Chechnya and Sierra Leone, and in terms of the dangers
that we face out on the road, this definitely qualifies as one of
the most dangerous places in the world right now. It's very
difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to the south, and villages
throughout the south continue to suffer from heavy bombardment.
We document case after case of civilian homes which have been hit in
the south, where entire families have been wiped out. I mean, one of
the issues I've been absolutely shocked about in terms of this
conflict is the number of children who have been killed, because in
almost all of the cases that we're documenting, we're talking about
a civilian home which is hit, and the parents are killed, along with
four, five, sometimes six children, some as young as one year old.
The youngest casualty that we've documented so far is two months
old.
It's very difficult to deliver aid to those villages in the south
and in the Bekaa Valley, which are subject to the bombardment that
we see. It's almost impossible for the humanitarian community to get
the kind of safe passage guarantee that they need to be able to work
down there and to get their trucks down there to deliver
humanitarian supplies, and even ambulances have been hit in the
south in the last few days.
On the other side of the coin, it's also very difficult for
villagers who are stuck in these villages in the south to leave
their homes, even though Israel has ordered the immediate evacuation
of all villages south of the Litani. We're talking about tens of
thousands of people who are effectively stuck in this very active
war zone, who are unable to flee because they are too afraid to
travel on the road. Just yesterday -- well, on Sunday we documented
more than ten cases of civilian cars, which were hit in the south;
more than forty people were wounded, and eight or nine people were
killed, simply for trying to flee to safety. So it really is a very,
very desperate situation throughout Lebanon these days.
Just a few days ago we documented an attack, which took place last
Wednesday, on the village of Blida, in which the Israelis used
cluster munitions. Human Rights Watch has been very critical of the
use of cluster and munitions by the U.S. military, because these are
indiscriminate weapons. Basically what they are is one big shell,
which opens up and drops a number of smaller bomblets over a very
large area. Many of these bomblets don't explode, so they
effectively turn into mines.
In this one attack that we documented one elderly woman was killed
and twelve people were wounded from one family, including seven
children. The husband of the family lost both of his legs, and I
interviewed him in the hospital two days ago. So we're very
concerned that Israel is using these indiscriminate weapons, cluster
bombs, in populated areas. It's simply not acceptable and is a
violation of the Geneva Conventions, because these are
indiscriminate and very, very dangerous weapons.
AMY GOODMAN: Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch also talked about
the plight of Lebanon's refugees.
PETER BOUCKAERT: The United Nations has estimated that there is up
to 500,000 displaced people in Lebanon today. That's almost a
quarter of the population of Lebanon, and I think those numbers are
quite accurate. There's more than a hundred schools in Beirut alone,
who have been packed with refugees. Yesterday, we visited an
underground parking lot of a major shopping center, where refugees
are sleeping on two separate levels of the parking lot. And we go
around on a daily basis to school after school after school, where
every classroom has been taken over by multiple families.
And they're not just people fleeing from the south. There are also
those from Beirut itself, especially from the southern suburbs, who
have lost their homes in this very fierce bombardment of the
southern suburbs, the Shia-dominated suburbs of Lebanon. I can't
emphasize just how vast the destruction is in the southern suburbs.
Walking around there is just a stunning experience. You know, you're
walking around and looking at these fourteen-story apartment
buildings who have just been completely taken down, and you wonder
what the military purpose Israel is hopes to achieve by taking down
these civilian apartment buildings.
Certainly there were in some of these neighborhoods some minor
Hezbollah offices. For example, in one neighborhood we visited,
there was a coop run by Hezbollah and a political office, but we
don't think it justifies the kind of massive destruction that Israel
is causing in these civilian neighborhoods of South Beirut.
I think it's time for the international community to step in and to
stop this onslaught on the civilian population of Lebanon. This is
totally different from the kind of bombardment that we saw in Iraq
and Afghanistan. Certainly we documented a lot of civilian
casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan when we worked there, but at
least in most of those cases we were able to determine what the
specific military objective was that the U.S. hoped to achieve by
these military strikes.
In the case of Lebanon it's very, very difficult for us to see, at
Human Rights Watch, what specific military objectives Israel is
trying to achieve by bombarding these civilian homes in the south
and the civilian neighborhoods of Southern Beirut. It certainly
seems very far removed from fighting a war directly with Hezbollah.
AMY GOODMAN: Peter Bouckaert is Emergencies Director from Human
Rights Watch. He was speaking to us from Beirut.
To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire program, click
here for our new online ordering or call 1 (888) 999-3877.
DN! at 10!
New! 10-CD audiobook read by Amy Goodman with DN! excerpts.
Amy Goodman's Speaking Events
7/8: Eugene, OR
9/9: Baraboo, WI
Fall Dates TBA
The Exception to the Rulers
SIGNED EDITIONS
Hardcover/Paperback
Lies of our Times: The NYTimes & Judith Miller
Read book excerpt on "Hiroshima Cover-up"
Baltimore Sun: Hiroshima Cover-up
TODAY'S STORIES
Headlines for July 25, 2006
Human Rights Watch: Israel Dropped Cluster Bombs on Civilians in
Lebanon in Violation of Geneva Conventions
Lebanese President Accuses Israel of Using White Phosphorous Bombs
in Lebanon
Star Wars in Iraq: Is the US Using New Experimental Tactical High
Energy Laser Weapons in Iraq?
Prominent Iranian Dissident and Former Political Prisoner Akbar
Ganji on Why He Refused to Meet President Bush and the Dangers of a
US Invasion of Iran
Human Rights Watch: Israel Dropped Cluster Bombs on Civilians in
Lebanon in Violation of Geneva Conventions
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
Speaking from Beirut, human rights investigator Peter Bouckaert
tells Democracy Now: "We're very concerned that Israel is using
these indiscriminate weapons it's unacceptable and a violation of
the Geneva Conventions because these are indiscriminate and very
very dangerous weapons." [includes rush transcript]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
The United Nations has launched an emergency appeal for the
international community to help the people of Lebanon. Emergency
Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said $150 million is needed urgently.
A total of about 800,000 people have been forced to flee their
homes. Food, water, fuel and medical supplies are running out in
parts of the country. The UN says entire communities have been cut
off because Israel has systemtically destroyed the country's
networks of roads and bridges. Meanwhile, questions are being raised
as to whether Israel is violating international law. On Sunday, UN
High Commissioner Louise Arbour told CNN Israel's actions in Lebanon
could lead to the prosecution of its military commanders. Meanwhile,
Human Rights Watch says Israel is shelling civilian areas with
cluster bombs. On Monday, Democracy Now reached Peter Bouckaert.
He's the emergencies director for Human Rights Watch, currently in
Beirut. He talked about the humanitarian situation on the ground, as
well as the situation for Lebanon's hundreds of thousands of
refugees.
Peter Bouckaert-Emergencies Director for Human Rights Watch
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
This transcript is available free of charge. However, donations help
us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our
TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution.
Donate - $25, $50, $100, more...
AMY GOODMAN: On Monday, Democracy Now! reached Peter Bouckaert. He
is the Emergencies Director for Human Rights Watch, currently in
Beirut. He began by talking about the humanitarian situation on the
ground.
PETER BOUCKAERT: Well, I've been working in war zones for Human
Rights Watch for the last decade almost, from Kosovo to Afghanistan
and Iraq and Chechnya and Sierra Leone, and in terms of the dangers
that we face out on the road, this definitely qualifies as one of
the most dangerous places in the world right now. It's very
difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to the south, and villages
throughout the south continue to suffer from heavy bombardment.
We document case after case of civilian homes which have been hit in
the south, where entire families have been wiped out. I mean, one of
the issues I've been absolutely shocked about in terms of this
conflict is the number of children who have been killed, because in
almost all of the cases that we're documenting, we're talking about
a civilian home which is hit, and the parents are killed, along with
four, five, sometimes six children, some as young as one year old.
The youngest casualty that we've documented so far is two months
old.
It's very difficult to deliver aid to those villages in the south
and in the Bekaa Valley, which are subject to the bombardment that
we see. It's almost impossible for the humanitarian community to get
the kind of safe passage guarantee that they need to be able to work
down there and to get their trucks down there to deliver
humanitarian supplies, and even ambulances have been hit in the
south in the last few days.
On the other side of the coin, it's also very difficult for
villagers who are stuck in these villages in the south to leave
their homes, even though Israel has ordered the immediate evacuation
of all villages south of the Litani. We're talking about tens of
thousands of people who are effectively stuck in this very active
war zone, who are unable to flee because they are too afraid to
travel on the road. Just yesterday -- well, on Sunday we documented
more than ten cases of civilian cars, which were hit in the south;
more than forty people were wounded, and eight or nine people were
killed, simply for trying to flee to safety. So it really is a very,
very desperate situation throughout Lebanon these days.
Just a few days ago we documented an attack, which took place last
Wednesday, on the village of Blida, in which the Israelis used
cluster munitions. Human Rights Watch has been very critical of the
use of cluster and munitions by the U.S. military, because these are
indiscriminate weapons. Basically what they are is one big shell,
which opens up and drops a number of smaller bomblets over a very
large area. Many of these bomblets don't explode, so they
effectively turn into mines.
In this one attack that we documented one elderly woman was killed
and twelve people were wounded from one family, including seven
children. The husband of the family lost both of his legs, and I
interviewed him in the hospital two days ago. So we're very
concerned that Israel is using these indiscriminate weapons, cluster
bombs, in populated areas. It's simply not acceptable and is a
violation of the Geneva Conventions, because these are
indiscriminate and very, very dangerous weapons.
AMY GOODMAN: Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch also talked about
the plight of Lebanon's refugees.
PETER BOUCKAERT: The United Nations has estimated that there is up
to 500,000 displaced people in Lebanon today. That's almost a
quarter of the population of Lebanon, and I think those numbers are
quite accurate. There's more than a hundred schools in Beirut alone,
who have been packed with refugees. Yesterday, we visited an
underground parking lot of a major shopping center, where refugees
are sleeping on two separate levels of the parking lot. And we go
around on a daily basis to school after school after school, where
every classroom has been taken over by multiple families.
And they're not just people fleeing from the south. There are also
those from Beirut itself, especially from the southern suburbs, who
have lost their homes in this very fierce bombardment of the
southern suburbs, the Shia-dominated suburbs of Lebanon. I can't
emphasize just how vast the destruction is in the southern suburbs.
Walking around there is just a stunning experience. You know, you're
walking around and looking at these fourteen-story apartment
buildings who have just been completely taken down, and you wonder
what the military purpose Israel is hopes to achieve by taking down
these civilian apartment buildings.
Certainly there were in some of these neighborhoods some minor
Hezbollah offices. For example, in one neighborhood we visited,
there was a coop run by Hezbollah and a political office, but we
don't think it justifies the kind of massive destruction that Israel
is causing in these civilian neighborhoods of South Beirut.
I think it's time for the international community to step in and to
stop this onslaught on the civilian population of Lebanon. This is
totally different from the kind of bombardment that we saw in Iraq
and Afghanistan. Certainly we documented a lot of civilian
casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan when we worked there, but at
least in most of those cases we were able to determine what the
specific military objective was that the U.S. hoped to achieve by
these military strikes.
In the case of Lebanon it's very, very difficult for us to see, at
Human Rights Watch, what specific military objectives Israel is
trying to achieve by bombarding these civilian homes in the south
and the civilian neighborhoods of Southern Beirut. It certainly
seems very far removed from fighting a war directly with Hezbollah.
AMY GOODMAN: Peter Bouckaert is Emergencies Director from Human
Rights Watch. He was speaking to us from Beirut.
To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire program, click
here for our new online ordering or call 1 (888) 999-3877.
DN! at 10!
New! 10-CD audiobook read by Amy Goodman with DN! excerpts.
Amy Goodman's Speaking Events
7/8: Eugene, OR
9/9: Baraboo, WI
Fall Dates TBA
The Exception to the Rulers
SIGNED EDITIONS
Hardcover/Paperback
Lies of our Times: The NYTimes & Judith Miller
Read book excerpt on "Hiroshima Cover-up"
Baltimore Sun: Hiroshima Cover-up
TODAY'S STORIES
Headlines for July 25, 2006
Human Rights Watch: Israel Dropped Cluster Bombs on Civilians in
Lebanon in Violation of Geneva Conventions
Lebanese President Accuses Israel of Using White Phosphorous Bombs
in Lebanon
Star Wars in Iraq: Is the US Using New Experimental Tactical High
Energy Laser Weapons in Iraq?
Prominent Iranian Dissident and Former Political Prisoner Akbar
Ganji on Why He Refused to Meet President Bush and the Dangers of a
US Invasion of Iran
