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The International Herald Tribune reports that 3 colleagues of Goldstone accuse him of having collapsed under pressure…

The Organization of the Islamic Conference has, on Monday 4 April 2011, reiterated its support for the Goldstone report, which clearly convicted Israel of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip in December 2008. This comes in response to statements by the investigation judge, Richard Goldstone, in parts of which he retreated from his position in the report carrying his name.

The OIC said it still adheres to the contents of the report adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, with the support of the Islamic Group, and that it continues to provide all the support required for the report at the UN General Assembly after the Islamic Group pushed towards the adoption of a resolution by the Human Rights Council urging the General Assembly to refer the Report to the UN Security Council. The OIC said it had already embarked on coordination within the Islamic Group in the General Assembly, in order to mobilise support for the endeavours to refer the Goldstone Report to the Security Council.

Meanwhile, the OIC noted that it would continue its tireless efforts which began with holding an Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee at the ministerial level, in the wake of the Israeli war on Gaza. The Meeting called for the formation of an international fact-finding mission. In January 2009, the Human Rights Council was invited, at the request of the Islamic Group, guided then by the directions of the OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu, to adopt a resolution on the formation of a fact-finding mission.

The Organisation also vowed to continue its commitment to mobilise international support needed for the approval and enforcement of the Report as an international document which does not represent a personal opinion or point of view valid at a specific time. Similarly, the OIC pointed out that the Secretary General would spare no effort in supporting the Report, as he had always done and since the efforts he initiated on 8 October 2009 in Geneva. At that time, Ihsanoglu met with the Human Rights High Commissioner and the representatives of the Islamic Group in order to reconsider the Report after its adoption by the Human Rights Council was deferred. The Report was then re-submitted to the Council to be adopted by 25 vote majority, and referred to the General Assembly which adopted its recommendations by majority vote.

The OIC stressed that the Report had included facts on the ground, and that the latest remarks of Judge Goldstone would not change the facts cited in the Report or the fact that Israel had committed crimes against the Palestinian people in the Strip. The Goldstone Report was not the first to condemn Israel for committing war crimes. It was preceded by the Desmond Tutu Report on the massacre of Beit Hanoun. It is in fact a long list of Israeli violations of International Law and the Geneva Conventions.