British human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin has been tapped as one of three lawyers to investigate possible war crimes in Gaza for the United Nations.
The independent commission put together by the UN Human Rights Council will be tasked to "identify those responsible, to make recommendations, in particular on accountability measures, all with a view to avoiding and ending impunity and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable, and on ways and means to protect civilians against any further assaults," the UN said in a statement, The Independent reports.
The 36-year-old British-Lebanese lawyer will be joined on the commission by Canadian law professor William Schabas and Senegalese lawyer Doudou Diene, according to The Associated Press.
Diene has worked in the UN over human rights and racism issues in the Ivory Coast, while Alamuddin has been on a tribunal that looked at the assassination of ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Schabas is an international law professor.
The appointments of both Alamuddin and Schabas have seen complaints, with the latter over recent comments that were critical of Israel, while the former's inclusion is seen as "trying to inject some Hollywood publicity into the process," advocacy group UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer has said.
Alamuddin has been in the news frequently as she is set to marry A-list actor George Clooney fairly soon. The couple obtained a marriage license in London last week and they are likely to tie the knot in Italy.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com