Author Archive for UN Watch

UN: We still consider Gaza “occupied” by Israel

Published by
UN Watch
- at January 27, 2012 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 3 Comments

Earlier this month, on Jan. 6, the UN chief’s spokesman promised to respond to UN Watch’s question as to why the UN still considers Gaza “occupied” even though Hamas admits it’s not, given that Israel hasn’t been there since 2005.

The UN has now answered:

Spokesperson:  Under resolutions adopted by both the Security Council and the General Assembly on the Middle East peace process, the Gaza Strip continues to be regarded as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  The United Nations will accordingly continue to refer to the Gaza Strip as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory until such time as either the General Assembly or the Security Council take a different view.
Question:  Can I follow up on that?  It is the legal definition of occupation and why is Gaza considered occupied?
Spokesperson:  Well, as I have just said, there are Security Council and General Assembly resolutions that cover this.  For example, there was a Security Council resolution adopted on 8 January 2009 — 1860 — and that stressed that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967.  And as you know, Security Council resolutions do have force in international law.
Furthermore, there is a resolution from the General Assembly from 20 December 2010, and while it noted the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank, it also stressed, in quotes, “the need for respect and preservation of the territorial unity, contiguity and integrity of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”.  So just to repeat that the United Nations will continue to refer to the Gaza Strip as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory until either the General Assembly or the Security Council take a different view on the matter.

UNESCO praised participation of Syria

Published by
UN Watch
- at January 26, 2012 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Syria and UNESCO. 2 Comments

On Nov. 22, UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova distanced herself from UNESCO’s election of Syria to two human rights committees, with her spokesperson telling UN Watch, “given the developments in Syria, the Director-General does not see how this country can contribute to the work of the Committees.”

However, only three weeks earlier, her approach toward Syria’s role at UNESCO appeared very different. This is from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), November 1, 2011: Continue reading ‘UNESCO praised participation of Syria’

Syria may be kicked off UNESCO rights panel thanks to UN Watch campaign

Published by
UN Watch
- at January 25, 2012 in Syria and UNESCO. 2 Comments

GENEVA, Jan. 25 – For the first time in its history, the UN’s culture and education agency is preparing to condemn Syria and expel it from a human rights committee, revealed a Geneva-based human rights organization today, releasing a motion filed by the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Qatar, Kuwait and six other countries, now backed also by Japan and South Korea.

After UNESCO in November elected Syria, which already sits on its 58-member executive board, to a committee that judges human rights complaints, the independent UN Watch monitoring group launched a campaign of 55 parliamentarians, religious groups and human rights activists urging member states to reverse the decision.

In response, according to diplomatic documents obtained exclusively by UN Watch, the U.S., its EU allies, Canada, Japan and a handful of Arab states are now among a growing coalition of countries that is formally requesting an agenda item for next month’s UNESCO board meeting to “review” Syria’s controversial membership.

Continue reading…

Correction: On William Schabas and Richard Goldstone

Published by
UN Watch
- at January 17, 2012 in Goldstone "Fact Finding" Mission for UNHRC, Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Richard Falk and William Schabas. 1 Comment

UN Watch’s recent briefing listed international law scholar William Schabas among those who had hailed Richard Goldstone as a saint after his UN report, only to turn on him when he retracted it.

In response, Professor Schabas states as follows: “I have never turned on my good friend Richard Goldstone, ‘with a vengeance’ or otherwise.” We have corrected the briefing and regret the error.

Indeed, a closer examination shows the  following. After the Goldstone Report was published, Schabas proclaimed that Goldstone “had better be on next year’s Nobel short list.” Schabas also shared his belief, on the same occasion, that Goldstone’s act of condemning alleged Israeli war crimes was performed “as a Jew.” “The world should be thankful that we have people like Richard Goldstone,” said Schabas. Continue reading ‘Correction: On William Schabas and Richard Goldstone’

UK announces bid to remove Syria from UNESCO rights committee

Published by
UN Watch
- at January 6, 2012 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 0 Comments

UK announces bid to cancel Syria’s “abhorrent” membership on UNESCO rights committee

GENEVA, Jan. 6 – UN Watch applauded the UK for announcing today that it will act with other countries to expel Syria from two UNESCO human rights committees, as the government disclosed in an email sent today to the Geneva-based human rights group, which heads a campaign of 60 MPs and rights activists to remove the Assad regime from the global posts (see text of Dec. 15 appeal below).

On November 11, UNESCO’s 58-nation executive board, which includes the UK, US, France, Britain, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Denmark, ratified the Arab group’s nomination of Syria to two committees dealing with human rights (details below).

However, in an email sent today to UN Watch responding to its December joint appeal, a representative of the Foreign Office stated that the UK “deplores the continuing membership of Syria on this committee and does not believe that Syria’s presence is conducive to the work of the body or UNESCO’s reputation.”

“We have therefore joined with other countries in putting forward an item for the first meeting of the Executive Board at which we will seek to explicitly address Syria’s membership of the body.”

The UK also expressed hope that other members of the executive board will join London in ending what it called “this abhorrent [and] anomalous situation.”

“We congratulate the UK and its allies for doing the right thing,” said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.

“It’s shocking that only two months ago the UN’s leading agency on science, culture and education gave two position of global influence on human rights to a regime that is raping, torturing and killing its own men, women and children.” said Neuer.

“This was an unconscionable decision that must be reversed immediately, and we hope that all 58 countries on the UNESCO board will join the UK in doing do.”

Links:

* UNESCO list showing Syria on the two committees

* Membership of 58-member UNESCO executive board which elected Syria

*****************
. Continue reading ‘UK announces bid to remove Syria from UNESCO rights committee’

UN flag at half-mast for Kim Jong-il

Published by
UN Watch
- at December 29, 2011 in North Korea (DPRK). 2 Comments

GENEVA, Dec. 28 – With UN flags at half-mast today at its Human Rights Council (photo) and other buildings to mark the funeral of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, a Geneva-based human rights group called on the UN to show equal sympathy for the victims of Kim’s ruthless regime.

“We understand that the UN follows diplomatic protocol, but the world body must not forget that its founding purpose is to defend basic human rights, and sadly that message is at serious risk of being blurred today,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a leading advocacy group at the UN for human rights in North Korea. See below UN Watch’s recent statements on North Korea.

“Today should be a time for the UN to show solidarity with the victims — the millions of North Koreans brutalized by Kim’s merciless policies of starvation, torture and oppression — and not with the perpetrator,” Neuer said.

“We call on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to make clear that today’s gesture in no way signals respect for a mass murderer of his own people, a man personally responsible for some of the worst atrocities of our time.”

Neuer also expressed concern that the North Korean regime “is likely to exploit the images of flags at half-mast to claim world sympathy for Kim Jong-il and his regime.

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Libya returns to the UN Human Rights Council

Published by
UN Watch
- at November 19, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and Libya. 0 Comments

The UN General Assembly voted on Friday to end  Libya’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council. Chavez & Co. opposed the move,  in a post-mortem show of solidarity with brother Col. Qaddafi.  See vote below. Continue reading ‘Libya returns to the UN Human Rights Council’

Rights Groups Welcome UN Draft on Syria, Urge Creation of Investigator

Published by
UN Watch
- at November 17, 2011 in Syria and Third Committee. 0 Comments

GENEVA, Nov. 17– In an attempt to influence a UN resolution on Syrian abuses now being debated by member states, a coalition of 20 famous dissidents and rights groups today circulated their own draft which specifically calls for the post of an independent UN expert to investigate gross violations in that country. Click here for proposed UNGA Resolution on Situation of Human Rights in Syria.

“We welcome the draft UN General Assembly resolution on Syria, and congratulate Britain, France and Germany for their initiative,” said Hillel Neuer, director of the non-governmental UN Watch monitoring group in Geneva, which sent the draft to 193 UN member states on behalf of a coalition of human rights groups and dissidents. “We strongly hope that Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Morocco and Kuwait will stand up and be counted as co-sponsors.”

Sponsors of the NGO draft resolution include well-known former political prisoners Yang Jianli of China, Ahmad Batebi of Iran, Fidel Suarez Cruz and Berta Antunez of Cuba, Rebiya Kadeer of the Uyghur people and Grace Kwinjeh of Zimbabwe, as well as UN Watch, the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights, Human Rights Foundation and Viet Tan.

The text was drafted at a recent summit of dissidents held in New York during the UN General Assembly, which included an opening address by Syrian rights activist Rami Nakhleh.

The dissidents’ draft calls upon the Human Rights Council to “urgently establish the mandate of a Special Rapporteur for human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, to monitor the situation in the country, collect information and recommend to the UN system actions to be taken.”

The NGO text also asks the Secretary-General to report on Syria to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council at its next sessions, and would ensure discussion of the Syrian human rights situation at future sessions.

The debate on the official UN text is expected within the next week at the world body’s Third Committee on human rights, which meets this month in New York.

UNESCO inconsistency in protesting Haaretz cartoon

Published by
UN Watch
- at November 11, 2011 in UNESCO. 1 Comment

In a letter of protest handed to Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO on Wednesday, the agency’s director general complained about a cartoon published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, saying it constituted “incitement” and “endangers the lives of unarmed diplomats.”

The November 4 cartoon depicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak sending an air force squadron to attack Iran, with Netanyahu ordering, “And on your way back, you’re gonna hit the UNESCO office in Ramallah!”

First of all, Haaretz is a frequent critic of the Israeli government, and this cartoon was clearly meant as a wry referral to the government’s anger at UNESCO for having accepted Palestine as a full member. And so it’s ironic that the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, whose mandate includes press freedom, should object to such legitimate commentary – especially since it appears in a country whose laws protect freedom of speech.

But most shocking is UNESCO chief Irina Bokova’s display of inconsistency in having Eric Falt, the agency’s assistant director general for external relations and public information, summon Ambassador Nimrod Barkan to make the protest.

In June 2010, UN Watch raised the issue of anti-Semitic and racist caricatures that regularly appear in the state-controlled press of Jordan, Syria, Qatar, Oman and elsewhere. Our compelling testimony before the UN Human Rights Council described several cartoons that we showed were “reminiscent of the Nazi era.” We wonder whether the UNESCO chief or her spokesman have ever said anything about those cartoons.

Al-Watan, September 30, 2011 (Qatar)

Many of the cartoons depict the UN as being controlled by evil Jewish forces. We are not aware of any UN agency having ever been concerned about the safety of its staff based on what they show.

Finally, in many similar instances in the past, UN officials used a traditional and effective way to response to news stories that they did not agree or wanted to clarify: they submitted a letter to the editor.  Edward Mortimer, Director of Communications for Kofi Annan, publilshed several such letters to the New York Times. Imagine if they had summoned the US Ambassador…

UN official Richard Falk posts profane poem about Alan Dershowitz

Published by
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- at November 10, 2011 in Richard Falk. 0 Comments

In response to Professor Alan Dershowitz’s New Republic critique,  Richard Falk, the UN Human Rights Council’s permanent investigator of Israeli violations, has published a profane poem.  Screenshots below. Continue reading ‘UN official Richard Falk posts profane poem about Alan Dershowitz’

UNESCO vote to admit Palestine: Who objected?

Published by
UN Watch
- at November 1, 2011 in Middle East and UNESCO. 8 Comments

Following is the full count of yesterday’s vote at UNESCO to admit Palestine as a member.

No: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sweden, United States of America, Vanuatu.

Abstentions: Albania, Andorra, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cook Islands, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Georgia, Haiti, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Liberia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, Thailand, Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Zambia.

Yes: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

Absent: Antigua and Barbuda, Central African Republic, Comoros, Dominica, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Madagascar, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Confederated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Niue, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan.

Today: Palestinians fire rockets on Beersheva, win UNESCO membership

Published by
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- at October 31, 2011 in Middle East and UNESCO. 3 Comments

GENEVA, Oct. 31 – “On a day when Palestinians continued firing rockets against Israeli civilian centers,” said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, in reaction to the vote by UNECO to admit the non-existent state of Palestine as a member, “the United Nations sent the wrong message about state privileges and responsibilities.”

A week-long assault from armed groups based in Gaza, part of the territory claimed by President Mahmoud Abbas to be under his jurisdiction, has injured 20 Israelis, and killed Moshe Ami, 56, who was mortally injured by flying shrapnel from a rocket fired Saturday at a residential neighborhood in the southern city of Ashkelon.

“The long-sought peace that the Palestinian and Israeli peoples so rightly deserve cannot be achieved by unilateral actions at the UN, but only by face-to-face talks,” said Neuer.

“The UNESCO decision may be a victory for rhetorical point-scoring on the international stage, but it does nothing to help Palestinians resolve the real issues on the ground. It’s time for Abbas and the Palestinians to choose the path of Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Jordan’s King Hussein and return to the negotiating table.”

Out of 173 countries voting, 107 voted in favor of the Palestinian request, sufficing under UNECO rules but falling short of the two-thirds support that many expected. There were 14 opposed, including the US, Germany and Canada, and 52 abstentions, including the UK.

Full text of official Palestinian UN membership request

Published by
UN Watch
- at October 27, 2011 in U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. 0 Comments

Click here for the full text of  the official Palestinian request for UN membership, as submitted in September by PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

UN’s World Food Program: Jean Ziegler causes “withdrawal of food aid & medicine from needy people”; actions are “profoundly immoral,” “unconscionable”

Published by
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- at October 24, 2011 in Jean Ziegler. 0 Comments

Letter from WFP Executive Director James T. Morris to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, dated October 24, 2002

Dear Mr. Secretary-General:

Knowing how busy you are, I regret having to take your time on this issue, but since I arrived here at the World Food Programme, I have been following with some concern the public statements of Jean Ziegler, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. In particular, I was disturbed by the attached release by Reuters which gives the impression that Mr. Ziegler speaks on behalf of the United Nations. You will note in the text that Mr. Ziegler has attacked the agreed position of the United Nations and the views of the director-general of WHO on GM/Biotech foods and he has done so without citing any scientific authorities, studies or reports. WFP staff in Geneva confirmed directly with him that the substance of the Reuters report was correct and that he had not been misquoted. Continue reading ‘UN’s World Food Program: Jean Ziegler causes “withdrawal of food aid & medicine from needy people”; actions are “profoundly immoral,” “unconscionable”’

45 rights groups urge UN Rights Council to investigate its Gaddafi apologists Jean Ziegler & Al-Hajjaji

Published by
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- at October 21, 2011 in Libya. 2 Comments

Where is Qaddafi’s Woman at the U.N.?

GENEVA, October 21 – While the UN human rights office today called for an investigation into Gaddafi’s death, an international coalition of 45 human rights groups today urged Ban Ki-moon and UN rights chief Navi Pillay to investigate two UN Human Rights Council officials for their alleged actions over three decades to shield Libyan dictator Col. Qaddafi from scrutiny of his regime’s gross violations of human rights. (See full text below.)

The appeal names Jean Ziegler, a member of the UNHRC Advisory Committee, who in 1989 announced the creation of the “Moammar Qaddafi Prize for Human Rights.” While Libya’s rights record was being reviewed last year by the UNHRC, a Libyan-funded group tied to Ziegler distributed within the UN a Ziegler-edited book comparing Qaddafi to French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

The 45 NGOs, mostly from Africa, also urged the council to fire Najat Al-Hajjaji, Qaddafi’s long-time representative to UN human rights bodies, from the council’s expert working group on mercenaries and human rights.

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UN Should Apologize For “Legitimizing” Gaddafi with Key Posts

Published by
UN Watch
- at October 20, 2011 in Judge Richard Goldstone, Libya and Muammar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize. 2 Comments

45 NGOs urge UN Human Rights Council’s Jean Ziegler to resign for founding “Gaddafi Human Rights Prize”

GENEVA, Oct. 20 – UN Watch today welcomed the end of the Gaddafi regime, one of the world’s most brutal violators of human rights, and called on UN chief Ban Ki-moon and human rights commissioner Navi Pillay to acknowledge the UN was wrong to support Gaddafi by granting him key posts on its most influential bodies.

Gaddafi apologist Najat al-Hajjaji represented Libya as chair of UN Human Rights Commission and Durban Review Conference on racism.

 

“It’s time for the UN to formally apologize for having legitimized Gaddafi’s regime by electing Libya to its Human Rights Council last year, to the Security Council in 2008-2009, and as General Assembly president in 2009,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based watchdog organization.

“The UN should also apologize for choosing Gaddafi’s regime to head the planning of its 2009 world conference on racism, and for designating Col. Gaddafi’s daughter Ayesha a UN Goodwill Ambassador.”

“On this day, it would also be appropriate for Mr. Ban and Ms. Pillay to call for Jean Ziegler, the co-founder of the Muammar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize, a propaganda tool for the regime, to resign from the UN Human Rights Council’s Advisory Committee.”

An international coalition of 45 human rights groups have urged Mr. Ban and Ms. Pillay to call on the UN Human Rights Council to fire Ziegler for his actions over three decades to shield Libyan dictator Col. Gaddafi from scrutiny of his regime’s gross violations of human rights.

The NGO appeal names Jean Ziegler, a member of the UNHRC Advisory Committee, who in 1989 announced the creation of the Moammar Gaddafi Prize for Human Rights. When Libya’s rights record was reviewed in November 2010, a Libyan-funded group tied to Ziegler distributed a 2010 book, edited by Ziegler, that likens Gaddafi to the philosopher Rousseau.

A recent Swiss TV report confirmed Ziegler’s key role in creating the Gaddafi prize, which it described as “an instrument of propaganda for the dictator.” As a result, citing his Gaddafi connections, the famed Salzburg Festival decided to cancel Ziegler’s keynote address this summer, sparking a heated controversy in Austria.

US Congressional Leader Warns Against UNESCO Bid to Elevate PA

Published by
UN Watch
- at October 4, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 1 Comment

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement after learning that UNESCO’s Executive Board will soon consider granting full membership in UNESCO to the Palestinian mission to the UN:

“It is deeply disappointing to see UNESCO, which has reformed itself in recent years, poised to support this dangerous Palestinian scheme. The U.S. must strongly oppose this move and make clear that any decision to upgrade the Palestinian mission’s status by UNESCO or any other UN entity will lead to a cutoff of U.S. funds to that entity.

“Feeling that their efforts at the UN Security Council will fail, the Palestinian leadership is shopping around the UN system for recognition. This attempt to rig the process needs to be stopped dead in its tracks. Our contributions are our strongest leverage at the UN, and should be used to stand up for our interests and allies and stop this dangerous Palestinian scheme.”

DECLARATION OF DISSIDENTS FOR UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Published by
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- at September 28, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 0 Comments

On September 22, 2011, at the opening of the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, dissidents and human rights activists gathered at  the We Have A Dream: Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution adopted the Declaration of Dissidents for Universal Human Rights.  The appeal calls for the removal of China, Cuba, Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia from their posts on the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Commission on the Status of Women. It also proposes UN General Assembly resolutions for the human rights situations in Pakistan, Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Yoani Sanchez issues plea to We Have A Dream summit of dissidents

Published by
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- at September 22, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 0 Comments

Yoani Sanchez, the Cuban dissident and world-renowned blogger, called on the phone from Havana today to address the We Have A Dream: Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution:

Fortunately for me and many Cubans, technology has permitted us to project our voice both inside and outside the island, to be able to reach those places where our government does not permit us to travel.

But the path to end the censorship and the state monopoly over information is still a very long one for us. Precisely on that topic I want to speak to you today — of the personal civic drama that signifies not being able to  significantly access the new technologies and especially the internet.

We are a nation locked in the 20th century; we are still unable today to navigate in cyberspace. We need to pass through an ideological filter, or pay a very high price that is inaccessible for our salaries. Only the very reliable functionaries, the foreigners in our country, or the communicators from our official sector, can have access to internet from their homes. The rest of the Cuban citizens are condemned to an information blockade.

And for that reason, today, at this forum, I want to denounce the crimes against connectivity that the Cubans are suffering, in not permitting us to gain access to other information…the citizens of this country are being victimized by a crime against journalism and mafia.

It is a violation of our rights to be denied knowledge of what happens outside and inside of our national frontiers. Nevertheless, despite these restrictions, human rights activists, non-conformist citizens,  and non-conformist artists are finding the way to express and spread their voice.

The magnificent tool of  blogs and Twitter have served us as a substitute to the free press that we do not have. From the small country in the east of the country, from the places where no one has ever seen a computer connected to the internet, through cell phones, Cubans are able to tell our story. Messages going out through Twitter are like an SOS, a call for help that is able to leap over the wall of control.

Technology has protected us. We have avoided in many cases that the repression would be excessively harsh with us. Each minute that passes that we Cubans are not permitted the massive access to the technologies, are years and years that we remain behind professionally and as citizens.

International community: please, pressure Cuba, so we could feel like individuals of this millennium, and interact with the citizens of the world on an equal basis. To get information today is to get democracy for tomorrow.

Photos: Dissidents assemble in UN and call out dictators on rights abuses

Published by
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- at September 22, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 0 Comments

Human Rights activists gather in New York for global summit on discrimination

Published by
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- at September 21, 2011 in Geneva Summit and Geneva Summit for Human Rights. 0 Comments
NEW YORK, September 21, 2011 — An international coalition of NGOs, human rights activists, and political dissidents met in New York this morning for the first session of the Global Summit against Discrimination and Persecution.
Held in parallel to the United Nations’ 65th session, the summit features former political prisoners from China, Iran, and the Sudan. Other speakers come from Cuba, Uganda, Vietnam, and Burma, all sharing stories of persecution and perseverance. The event gives platform to their continuing struggle for freedom while governments from around the world meet nearby at the United Nations General Assembly. Continue reading ‘Human Rights activists gather in New York for global summit on discrimination’

Rights of Women in China, Saudi Arabia and Iran

Published by
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- at September 18, 2011 in China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. 0 Comments

UN Watch Testimony to UN Human Rights Council, Agenda Item 3, delivered by Alexia Bedat, 15 September 2011

Thank you, Madam President.

Under Articles 2, 5 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, women are guaranteed equal treatment under the law and protection from degrading treatment. Today we ask: Is this promise being translated into practice?

To find the answer, we must see reality from the perspective of real women on the ground. Let us consider three concrete examples:

1. China. According to a panel of experts including US Congressman Chris Smith, as a result of the “One child policy,” every 2.4 seconds a woman in China undergoes a forced abortion.  Xiao Ai Ying is one of these women. Last year, eight months into her pregnancy, twelve government officials broke into her home, brutally kicked her in the stomach and dragged her screaming to the hospital.  Madam President, isn’t China a member of this Council, and therefore pledged to the highest standards of human rights? Continue reading ‘Rights of Women in China, Saudi Arabia and Iran’

UN Watch barred from monitoring UN Durban III “anti-racism” meeting

Published by
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- at September 18, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 9 Comments

Ms. Navanethem Pillay
UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
1211 Geneva 10

September 15, 2011

Dear Madam High Commissioner,

We write to strongly protest the UN’s unprecedented decision to exclude UN Watch, an ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organization, from next Thursday’s high-level meeting to commemorate the Durban Declaration. The rejection of our application was carried out without any notice or semblance of due process, and is an act of discrimination. We appeal to you, as the leading figure of the UN’s anti-racism effort, to speak out against this deplorable decision and to demand that it be immediately reversed. Continue reading ‘UN Watch barred from monitoring UN Durban III “anti-racism” meeting’

Global rights summit to unite activists in demand for UN action this week against worst abusers

Published by
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- at September 18, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 0 Comments

NEW YORK, September 17, 2011 – A coalition of human rights NGOs will hold a major summit in New York on September 21-22, 2011 to impress upon world leaders gathering for the UN General Assembly that “human rights are universal.”

We Have A Dream: The Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution will be held next to UN Headquarters in New York at the same time as the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly and the 10th anniversary commemoration of the UN’s Durban conference on racism, discrimination and xenophobia. Continue reading ‘Global rights summit to unite activists in demand for UN action this week against worst abusers’

UN Palmer commission negates Human Rights Council on Israeli clash with IHH flotilla

Published by
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- at September 1, 2011 in Flotilla Probe and Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 1 Comment

It’s time now for the UN Human Rights Council to apologize for its laughably one-sided investigation into Israel’s May 2010 flotilla clash.

Recall that in September 2010, commission chair Desmond de Silva castigated UN Watch for daring to challenge his report’s failure to consider key facts, and famously declared: “Even if Bin Laden himself were on the Mavi Maramara, Israel’s blockade would still be illegal.”

Completely wrong, says a separate UN commission appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Read full report here. Headed by Sir Geoffrey Palmer, the former prime minister of New Zealand, the new commission of inquiry finds that Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is lawful.

Continue reading ‘UN Palmer commission negates Human Rights Council on Israeli clash with IHH flotilla’

Torture of Gaddafi maids: UN knew, refused to act

Published by
UN Watch
- at August 30, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and Libya. 1 Comment

For  anyone  following Libyan affairs, yesterday’s revelation about the Gaddafi family’s mistreatment of Shweyga Mullah, an Ethiopian nanny for the family of Gaddafi’s son Hannibal was hardly a revelation. Certainly the UN knew about this conduct — we told them about how it, but they didn’t want to listen. Continue reading ‘Torture of Gaddafi maids: UN knew, refused to act’

VIDEO: Syrian activist taken on Assad regime in UN debate

Published by
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- at August 24, 2011 in Syria. 0 Comments

Syria tells lies in UN debate. UN Watch responds. Testimony delivered by Lama al-Atassi, Syrian pro-democracy activist, to UN Human Rights Council emergency session on “The Situation of Human Rights in Syrian Arab Republic,” August 22, 2011, Geneva.

UN condemnation of Syrian attrocities

Published by
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- at August 23, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and Syria. 0 Comments

The Human Rights Council condemned Syria today at the conclusion of its 17th special session on the “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic.” The EU-sponsored resolution passed with 33 votes to 4, with 9 abstentions.

China, Russia, Cuba and Ecuador voted against the resolution. Abstaining were Mauritania, Angola, Philippines, Cameroon, Uganda, India, Bangladesh, Djibouti and Malaysia.

For further details on the voting outcome, click here to see the Voting Chart.

The resolution strongly condemned “the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities” and decided to create a full commission of inquiry “to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011 in the Syrian Arab Republic.”

For the full text of the resolution, click here.

Syrian democracy activist addresses UN urgent session on Syria

Published by
UN Watch
- at August 22, 2011 in Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and Syria. 0 Comments

UN Watch statement delivered today by Ms. Lama al-Atassi, Syrian pro-democracy activist, to United Nations Human Rights Council emergency session on The Situation of Human Rights in Syrian Arab Republic, August 22, 2011.

 

Thank you, Madam President.

We have heard various statements in support of the Syrian government. Allow me to provide an entirely different picture — one reflecting the true reality in Syria.

My name is Lama Atassi. I am a Syrian citizen of Homs, the town which witnessed the greatest number of prisoners and martyrs. The inhabitants of Homs confront fear and live bullets on a daily basis to reclaim their freedom and their rights, as guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I would like to share with you the story of Hadi Al Jendi, a 22-year-old student of Homs who was murdered by his own government on July 22.

Hadi led demonstrations in the streets of Homs. For this sole reason, and after severe threats, he was shot with a bullet to the forehead.

He left the following message:

Go into the streets and claim your freedom, do not return to your homes until it is yours again, even if this means dying as martyrs. My soul longs to see freedom prevail in our country.

Hadi was one of the first students to leave the path of academic education in order to join one committed to democracy and dignity, a new source of education for people in the Syrian streets, which they hope to see applied one day.

I therefore appeal to all of you present today to stand in support of the Syrian people.

I have but one question for those countries which, in UN debates held here or in the Security Council in New York, have opposed a firm condemnation of the crimes committed by the Syrian government – for those countries which have chosen to side with the executioners instead of with the victims.

I ask China, Russia, Egypt, Nigeria, Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Brazil and Cuba:

How do you justify your support for a regime that slaughters its own people?

How do can you continue to ignore the rights of the Syrian people?

How will you justify your actions when, in the near future, the people of Syria achieve their freedom?

Thank you, Madam President.

EU waters down UN Human Rights Council resolution on Syria

Published by
UN Watch
- at August 22, 2011 in Syria. 0 Comments

In advance of today’s UN Human Rights Council emergency session on Syria, the EU apparently watered down it draft resolution to include a reference to Syria’s “territorial integrity.”  See UN Watch’s rush summary below. Friday’s talks are summarized here. Continue reading ‘EU waters down UN Human Rights Council resolution on Syria’