The UN's top human rights body meeting in emergency session in Geneva at the request of Arab states tried on Thursday to agree on how to respond to a three-week wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
As both sides began to show signs of putting a deal struck in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt into practice, the United Nations Human Rights Commission was due to resume discussions to try to reach a compromise.
Arab and Muslim states which called for the special session have put a draft resolution on the table calling for an international probe into the unrest which has left 112 people dead, mostly Palestinian.
But it was clear from the beginning that most of the forum's 53 members would not agree to many of the Arab demands at this rare special session which was to resume for a third consecutive day on Thursday afternoon.
Western diplomatic sources said on Thursday many members rejected the idea of the commission setting up any kind of mechanism of inquiry because it would duplicate what the Sharm el-Sheikh summit had agreed.
They favored the commission using its normal instruments such as sending special rapporteurs to the region to look into areas of human rights violations or a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, the sources said.
If commission members fail to reach a consensus on their response to the violence, the forum could face a vote.
Meanwhile, the West Bank and Gaza Strip remained tense Thursday despite the Sharm el-Sheikh accord between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
They agreed a series of measures at the emergency Egyptian summit, sponsored by US President Bill Clinton, to try to end the violence which erupted after a visit by Israel's opposition leader Ariel Sharon to a disputed holy site in Jerusalem.
It was also agreed to set up a US-led fact-finding committee into the clashes.
Israeli and Palestinian officials traded accusations at a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. The session, called for by the Palestinian observer to the UN, was adjourned after 90 minutes until Friday.
Two special sessions were held in 1992 to discuss Yugoslavia, one in 1994 on Rwanda and another last September to discuss East Timor – GENEVA (AFP)
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