The Goldstone Report is the 2009 report of a United Nations Human Rights Council fact-finding mission on the 2008–09 Gaza conflict. It examined conduct by Israel and Hamas, found evidence of potential war crimes by both, and recommended investigations. In 2011, mission chair Richard Goldstone said later Israeli investigations indicated civilians were not targeted as a matter of policy; he did not withdraw the report or its other findings.
What the mission examined
The Council created the mission in 2009. Its report, A/HRC/12/48, addressed alleged violations during fighting from December 2008 to January 2009, including Israeli military conduct and Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilian areas.
What changed in 2011
Goldstone’s April 2011 op-ed focused on evidence that became available through Israeli investigations after the report. He said it indicated civilians were not intentionally targeted as Israeli policy, and probably would have influenced the mission’s findings on intentionality and war crimes. He also criticized the pace and public nature of the inquiries and said civilian deaths remained tragic.
Follow the record
The Human Rights Council later established an expert committee to assess investigations by both sides. Its mandate and reports appear in the OHCHR record of the follow-up committee. Read the mandate and panel, Goldstone’s precise qualification, and Israel’s investigations and the UN follow-up, how evidence was gathered casualty classifications procedural lessons.