A/HRC/15/21 I. Introduction A. Mandate 1. On 2 June 2010 the Human Rights Council, in resolution 14/1, decided “to dispatch an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance” to Gaza. The same resolution authorized the President of the Council to appoint the members of this Mission and called for the independent international fact-finding mission, hereinafter referred to as “the Mission”, to report its findings to the fifteenth session of the Council.1 2. Seven weeks later, on 23 July 2010, the President of the Human Rights Council appointed Judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips, Q.C., retired Judge of the International Criminal Court and former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, to be Chairman and to head the Mission. The other appointed members were Sir Desmond de Silva, Q.C. of the United Kingdom, former Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone and Ms. Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia, founding member of the Board of Directors of the International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific and former member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. 3. In accordance with common practice, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) established a secretariat to support the Mission. The experts were also assisted by external specialists in forensic pathology, military issues, firearms, the law of the sea and international humanitarian law. 4. The Mission considered that its task was directed to investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding the boarding by Israeli military personnel of a flotilla of ships bound for Gaza and to determine whether in the process violations occurred of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law. 5. The Council, in its resolution, decided to dispatch a mission to investigate “violations” of international law, international humanitarian and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli “attacks” on the flotilla carrying humanitarian assistance. This appeared to determine that “violations” of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law had in fact occurred prior to any investigation. The resolution also appeared to find as a fact that there had been Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships and that the ships were carrying humanitarian assistance. 6. The Mission did not interpret its task as proceeding on any such assumptions. It could not determine what its position was until the Mission came to its conclusion on the facts. The same can be said of the alleged actions by the Israeli forces. 7. It was not generally contested that there was an interception by Israeli forces of a flotilla of ships and that the ships were carrying cargoes of a humanitarian nature. That apart, the Mission considered that its mandate required it to ascertain the sequence of the facts and events as they occurred and to examine the reasons and justification in law, if any, for the above. 8. The Mission convened in Geneva to officially commence its work on 9 August 2010. Shortly prior thereto, on 2 August 2010, the Secretary-General of the United Nations announced the setting-up of a Panel of Inquiry on the flotilla incident of 31 May. The 1 Resolution 14/1 was adopted by a recorded vote of 32 to 3, with 9 abstentions. 3