A/HRC/5/20 page 13 Mr. President Excellencies Ladies and gentlemen 1. Thank you for the opportunity to update the Council on the efforts of the High-Level Fact-Finding Mission established under Council Resolution S-3/1 to discharge its mandate. This update is provided on behalf of myself as a member of the Mission, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Leader of the Mission. Archbishop Tutu sends his apologies for his inability to be with us today. 2. The High-Level Fact-Finding Mission was established by Resolution S-3/1 adopted on 15 November 2006 with a mandate to travel to the town of Beit Hanoun in the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza following Israeli military operations carried out there around the 8th of November 2006. The Mission was mandated to, inter alia: a. Assess the situation of victims; b. Address the needs of survivors; and c. Make recommendations on ways and means to protect Palestinian civilians against any further Israeli assaults. 3. We were asked to report to the Council no later than the middle of December 2006 on progress made towards the fulfilment of its mandate. 4. The Council has before it a letter from Archbishop Tutu to the President of the Council dated 11 December 2006. This letter sets out the events surrounding the appointment of the members of the High-Level Fact-Finding Mission, its work in Geneva prior to 11 December 2006, and the ultimate failure of Israel to provide the Mission with the necessary official visas for it to carry out its mandate. 5. The members of the Mission would like to reiterate here four points made in that letter. a. First, Archbishop Tutu immediately made it clear to Israeli authorities that he wished the mission to visit both Gaza and Israel in order to meet with both Palestinian and Israeli officials and non-governmental organizations to hear the views of all; b. Second, the Archbishop indicated from the outset to all parties that he was obliged to return to Cape Town by the 16th of December at the latest, and that travel to Beit Hanoun would thus have to commence on the Sunday the 10th of December at the latest. The deadline for receiving visas was thus communicated as being 4 p.m. on Friday the 8th December 2006;