Former Salient Editor and New Zealand Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer has been appointed to chair a United Nations (UN) enquiry into the Israeli attack on an aid flotilla earlier this year.
Palmer’s role was announced last week on the strength of recommendations from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The UN Human Rights Council will be investigating the Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound flotilla aid that led to the death of nine unarmed civilians and the capture and deportation of one female New Zealand aid worker. The investigation’s aim will be to prevent future conflicts rather than determining who is to blame for the incident.
Palmer was New Zealand’s 33rd Prime Minister and held office for one year between 1989 and 1990.
Palmer studied political science and law at Victoria University in the early 1960s and was Salient’s editor in 1963 with Ian Grant and Robin Bromby.