“The Khadafi Prize? How could I have created it? It’s absurd.”
—JEAN ZIEGLER, Le Matin, April 24, 2006
Supplement to June Report: Additional Evidence of Jean Ziegler’s Libya Ties (November 9, 2006)
SWITZERLAND’S NOMINEE TO THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
AND THE MOAMMAR KHADDAFI HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE
A Report by UN Watch
June 20, 2006
The Report in PDF Form
During the next two weeks, as well as over the next year, the eyes of the world—especially the eyes of those whose human rights are denied—will be turned toward the United Nations’ new Human Rights Council. Great hopes have been raised.
Among the Council’s expected actions next week will be the appointment and renewal of its human rights experts, known as the Special Procedures. Many of these experts do excellent and important work. Regrettably, however, one of the candidates for election as an expert is a man who has routinely subverted the language of human rights to serve the interests of dictators like Moammar Khaddafi.
This report—based on numerous documents (attached here), including official records of the canton of Geneva, UN materials and international news sources-reveals the leading role of Jean Ziegler, despite his denials and non-disclosures, in founding the Moammar Khaddafi Human Rights Prize, his ongoing relationship with the Prize organization in Geneva, and his own receipt of the Prize. The report also reveals how a group of interconnected organizations—co-founded and co-managed by Mr. Ziegler—have awarded the Prize and its accompanying funding to notorious racists and human rights violators, including convicted French Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy.
The human rights record of Colonel Khaddafi’s regime is routinely rated by Freedom House as one of the “Worst of the Worst.” Notwithstanding Libya’s recent renunciation of weapons of mass destruction in return for international favor, Khaddafi continues to rule by fiat, denying freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and other basic civil rights and liberties. Security forces have the power to pass sentence without trial. Arbitrary arrest and torture are commonplace. Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor have been sentenced to death by firing squad, under trumped-up charges that they contaminated 400 children with HIV/AIDS. International appeals have been rejected.
If one of the new UN Human Rights Council’s first actions was to be the election of an expert with substantial ties to Libya—the country whose notorious 2003 election as chair of its predecessor helped to bring about the latter’s demise—the harm to the Council’s credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness might be irreparable.
I. Introduction
On April 11, 2006, an international coalition of human rights organizations, including UN Watch, sent a letter of protest to the Swiss government over its nomination of Jean Ziegler, a longtime apologist for dictators, to be an expert on the UN’s human rights think-tank, the Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, which is now part of the newly created Human Rights Council.1 Among the many examples of Mr. Ziegler’s support for and ties to repressive regimes, we cited with grave concern his leadership role in the founding, in 1989, of the “Moammar Khaddafi Prize for Human Rights.”2
Mr. Ziegler responded by denying that he took part in creating the Khaddafi Prize and accusing UN Watch of defaming him (“The Khadafi Prize? How could I have created it? It’s absurd.”)3 In fact, however, our assertions were based on news articles from 1989 that clearly document Mr. Ziegler’s role in founding the Prize—and their source for the information was none other than Mr. Ziegler himself. Our research also has confirmed Mr. Ziegler’s ongoing relationship with the Prize entity. Although he seems unwilling to own up to it now, Mr. Ziegler is and has long been the vice-chairman of the inter-related organizations in Geneva that administer and award the Prize. This involvement appears to have been continuous up to the present, including during the time frame when he himself won, but did not disclose his relationship to, the Prize.
UN human rights experts are meant to be impartial, independent, and of high integrity.4 Mr. Ziegler’s conduct during his current UN mandate has not met these standards and, as the April 11 letter urged, this should disqualify him from appointment to a new UN position.5 The additional facts that Mr. Ziegler has failed to disclose publicly, and indeed has affirmatively denied, his connections to the Libyan government-funded Khaddafi Prize, provide even more proof of the inappropriateness of this appointment.
When choosing candidates for the Sub-Commission, UN member states are supposed to “ensure that their nominees . . . are impartial and independent, [and] free from conflict of interest”.6 If the Swiss government had known the facts of Mr. Ziegler’s relationship to the Libyan government-funded Khaddafi Prize and its associated Geneva organizations, we believe that it would not have nominated him for this position. Similarly, if UN member states had known these facts in March 2003, we believe that they would not have supported Mr. Ziegler’s re-appointment to a second term as the UN’s right to food expert.7 The legitimacy of the UN’s system of human rights experts is premised on the experts’ independence and impartiality. In Mr. Ziegler’s case, his undisclosed Libyan connections call into question whether he meets these essential requirements.
The following text and accompanying supporting documents (available here) set forth in detail the evidence concerning Jean Ziegler’s leading role in founding the Khaddafi Prize, his ongoing relationship with the Prize organization in Geneva, and his own receipt of the Prize.
II. The Evidence
A. Jean Ziegler’s Role in Founding the Khaddafi Prize
The Khaddafi Human Rights Prize was awarded for the first time in April 1989—and it was Jean Ziegler who announced the event, and his own involvement with it, to the world. As reported in an April 23, 1989 United Press International story on the first grant of the Prize,
[Swiss] Socialist deputy Jean Ziegler said a prize foundation fund in the name of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is registered in Geneva with capital of $10 million. Annual winners will be selected and foundation capital managed by a committee of African and European politicians and intellectuals, he said. “The prize is conceived as an anti-Nobel Peace prize award for the Third World,” Ziegler said in a statement. Ziegler said committee members besides himself include Sam Nujoma, leader of the Southwest African Peoples Organization (SWAPO); Robert Charvin, honorary dean of the law faculty at Nice University in France; Nasser Cid, dean of law at Khartoum University, Sudan; and Jean-Marie Bressand, founder of the twinned cities association.8
The British newspaper The Independent covered the story on April 25, 1989, also citing and quoting Mr. Ziegler:
Until now, the main international peace prize has been funded by a company which manufactures explosives for weapons. If we can believe reports from Geneva, the next big award in this field will be sponsored by a regime which specialises in giving them away. According to Jean Ziegler, the socialist MP who is Switzerland’s answer to the late Abbie Hoffman, the $250,000 prize will bear the name of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who has provided a $10 million fund for it. . . . Mr. Ziegler said the award was designed to be the ‘Anti-Nobel Prize of the Third World.’ The Swiss gadfly is the perfect person to represent such a foundation, as he has long been a professional Third Worlder. . . .9
An April 27, 1989 article on the issue in Switzerland’s news magazine L’Hebdo featured Mr. Ziegler’s photograph under the following headline: “The Nobel of Kadhafi: Libyan authorities create a new human rights prize. Jean Ziegler sticks his hands in the dough.” The story begins as follows:
According to Jean Ziegler, “the Nobel Prize is a permanent humiliation for the Third World.” The timing couldn’t be better—just as Libya is trying to restore its image. With the interest of 10 million dollars—placed in a Swiss bank—it plans to create an international institute for human rights (planned in Geneva) and two “counter-Nobel Prizes.” In mid-April, Jean Ziegler and ten “intellectuals and progressive fighters” thus found themselves in Tripoli to put the project on track.10
The May 8, 1989 issue of Time magazine also contains an item about the Khaddafi Prize quoting Mr. Ziegler as a representative of the prize committee.11
B. Jean Ziegler’s Ongoing Relationship with the Khaddafi Prize Organization
Mr. Ziegler’s continuing connections to the Khaddafi Prize are referenced in a 1991 Jerusalem Post story about a legal case in Switzerland that resulted in his conviction for libel: “During the trial [of the case], criticism was heard of Ziegler’s involvement in Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi’s ‘Peace Prize Organization.'”12 Other news reports and public documents reveal the identity of this organization and confirm Jean Ziegler’s ongoing role in it.
According to the Libyan press agency, the organization in Geneva that awards the Khaddafi Prize is an entity called North-South XXI (or Nord-Sud XXI).13 The British press has also reported North-South XXI’s role in awarding the Prize,14 as has the press in Geneva. An August 30, 2002 article in Le Temps about the Prize states:
The Kadhafi Prize is managed in Geneva by North-South 21, which claims to be an organization for the defense of human rights. . . . It is worth noting that North-South 21 does not want to mention the financial investment of Tripoli in the Geneva center. The organization issues many periodicals and other publications but none mentions the name of the provider of funds.15
A past winner also has attributed the Prize to North-South XXI.16
Like the Khaddafi Prize, North-South XXI was founded in 1989.17 In addition to awarding the Prize, North-South XXI organizes seminars and colloquia (many of which have been held in Tripoli) and issues a periodic journal of the same name. North-South XXI has special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which allows it to participate at UN sessions. It has argued before UN bodies against the international sanctions on Libya, without disclosing its connections to the Khaddafi regime.18
North-South XXI is located in Geneva at rue Ferdinand-Hodler, number 17.19 Its director is Ahmad Soueissi, and its chairman is Ahmed Ben Bella.20 Mr. Ben Bella and Mr. Soueissi are also chairman and secretary, respectively, of a similarly-named organization at the same address: the Institut Nord-Sud pour le dialogue intercultural.21 The vice-chairman of the Institut Nord-Sud, according to official records of the canton of Geneva, is Jean Ziegler.22 Several websites identify the Institut as the source of the North-South XXI journal,23 and one describes it as “presided over by Jean Ziegler.”24
The Institut Nord-Sud is managed and financed by the Fondation Nord-Sud pour le dialogue interculturel.25 The Fondation seems to have the same street address as North-South XXI and the Institut.26 The officers of the Fondation are the same as of the Institute: Mr. Ben Bella, chairman; Mr. Ziegler, vice-chairman; and Mr. Soueissi, secretary.27
Neither Mr. Ziegler’s biographical data supporting his Sub-Commission candidacy,28 nor his official university CV,29 nor the biography on his right to food website,30 make any mention of the Khaddafi Prize, the Fondation Nord-Sud, the Institut Nord-Sud, or North-South XXI.
After the April 11 joint NGO letter protesting Mr. Ziegler’s nomination to the Sub-Commission, North-South XXI issued a statement supporting Mr. Ziegler and accusing UN Watch of a “campaign of denigration” against him.31 This statement did not disclose Mr. Ziegler’s connections to North-South XXI.
C. Jean Ziegler’s Receipt of the Khaddafi Prize
Since its founding, the Libyan government—assisted by Jean Ziegler and the other Prize organization officers—has used the Khaddafi Prize as a propaganda tool;32 as a method for funding sympathetic NGOs;33 as a means to celebrate prominent anti-Americans and to highlight issues meant to embarrass Western nations;34 as a means to celebrate prominent racists and anti-Semites;35 and as a way to provide moral support for those who participate in the Palestinian intifada.36
In September 2002, Mr. Ziegler himself was among 13 “intellectual and liter[ary] personalities” given the Prize for their “thought and creativity.”37 Among those with whom he shared the award was Roger Garaudy, a convicted French Holocaust denier.38 By this time, the prize money reportedly amounted to US$750,000.39 The Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported that Mr. Ziegler’s share of the purse would approach 100,000 Swiss francs.40
The day after the 2002 Khaddafi Prize was awarded, Mr. Ziegler announced from Tripoli—where he said he was on an unspecified UN mission—that he had turned it down “because of [his] responsibilities at the United Nations.”41 (He had, in 2000, been appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food.) The next day he gave an additional reason, saying that he would have turned down the Prize anyway because “I have never accepted prizes and won’t start to do so now.”42 Mr. Ziegler neither disclosed nor gave as a reason for refusing the award the obvious conflicts of interest resulting from his role in the Prize’s founding and his vice-chairmanship of the organizations that manage and award it.43
Despite his avowed rejection of the award, Mr. Ziegler’s name continued to be listed by the Libyan press service as a past Khaddafi Prize laureate as recently as November, 2005.44 Additionally, a December 2005 article in the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported that Mr. Ziegler did accept the 2002 Khaddafi Prize, although as the representative of his research center at the University of Geneva, the Laboratoire de sociologie des sociétés du tiers monde (Sociology Laboratory of Third-World Societies).45
III. Questions About Violations Committed by Jean Ziegler
The evidence set forth above, gathered from the attached UN documents, Swiss and international news sources, and official filings, demonstrably contradicts Mr. Ziegler’s denial of connections with the Khaddafi Prize. It also raises many troubling questions, including:
- Given his concealed connections with the Libyan-government funded Khaddafi Prize and its affiliated Geneva organizations, does Mr. Ziegler possess the impartiality, independence, integrity, and freedom from conflict of interest required of a UN human rights expert?
- In hiding and denying his links to the Khaddafi Prize organizations, did Mr. Ziegler run afoul of UN ethics rules?46
- Did Mr. Ziegler’s involvement in managing and awarding the Khaddafi Prize money violate the UN economic sanctions against Libya—which included the freezing of Libyan funds and financial resources in other countries—during their time in existence?
- In awarding the Prize and its accompanying funding to racists, such as convicted French Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy, did Mr. Ziegler aid and abet any violation of Switzerland’s anti-racism law?47
IV. Recommendations
The new UN Human Rights Council convened for the first time on June 19. Among the Council’s expected actions in its first, two-week session will be the extension, for one year, of all existing Special Rapporteurs and the appointment of experts to the Sub-Commission. Mr. Ziegler is therefore up for appointment to two separate UN expert positions: a renewed appointment as the Human Rights Council’s expert on the right to food, and a new appointment as expert of the Council’s Sub-Commission. If the Council’s founding group of independent human rights experts were to include an individual with substantial ties to Libya—whose notorious 2003 election as chair of the Council’s predecessor body helped to bring about its demise—the harm to the new entity’s credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness might be irreparable.
In light of the evidence detailed above,
- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and the UN Ethics Office should initiate an immediate investigation of whether Mr. Ziegler’s conduct has violated any UN ethics rules;
- UN Human Rights Council President Luis De Alba should work to ensure that Mr. Ziegler is not appointed to either expert post, and should investigate Mr. Ziegler’s possible breach of UN ethics and conflict of interest rules;
- Professor Philip Alston, Chair of the Special Procedures Coordination Committee of the UN Human Rights Council, should investigate whether Mr. Ziegler’s actions and misrepresentations have damaged the standing of the Special Procedures system, and consider disciplinary action;
- Mr. Ziegler should immediately withdraw his candidacy for election as an expert to the Human Rights Council’s Sub-Commission, and for renewal as the Council’s Special Rapporteur on the right to food;
- Switzerland should immediately rescind Mr. Ziegler’s nomination to the Sub-Commission and oppose the extension of his term as expert on the right to food;
- Members of the UN Democracy Caucus who are on the Human Rights Council—including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Canada—should not only refuse to support Mr. Ziegler’s Sub-Commission appointment, but also should oppose the planned extension of his current position as Special Rapporteur on the right to food.
Click here for Attached Sources
__________________________
1. NGO Statement Opposing Jean Ziegler’s Nomination to new UN Post, available here. The signatories include Libya Watch for Human Rights; Libya Human Rights Solidarity; Madres y Mujeres Anti-Represion por Cuba (Mothers & Women against Repression); Plantados Until Freedom and Democracy in Cuba; Vietnam Committee on Human Rights; Hope for Africa International; UN Watch; LICRA (Ligue Internationale Contre le Racisme et l’Antisémitisme); Don Bosco Ahaylam; Concerned Women for America; Endeavour Forum; Institute for Global Leadership; Women’s Sports Foundation; Agence des cités pour la coopération Nord-Sud; Montagnard Foundation; Savera; Cuban Democratic Directorate; Thailand Burma Border Consortium; International Council of Jewish Women; REAL Women of Canada; and the European Council of WIZO Federations.
2. An initial note regarding spelling: the Libyan leader’s name is transliterated into English in many different ways. We use the version “Khaddafi,” except in direct quotes where we retain the spelling used in the original source.
3. “Nations Unies: Jean Ziegler au cœur d’une nouvelle polémique,” Le Matin, 24 avril 2006 (“UN Watch en est à sa troisième campagne de diffamation contre moi. . . . Le Prix Khadafi? Comment aurais-je pu le créer? C’est absurde!”) [“United Nations: Jean Ziegler at the heart of a new polemic,” Le Matin, April 24, 2006].
4. See, e.g., Commission on Human Rights Decision 2000/109 (E/CN.4/DEC/2000/109) (“In appointing mandate holders, the professional and personal qualities of the individual—expertise and experience in the area of the mandate, integrity, independence and impartiality—will be of paramount importance.”); Report on the Meeting of Special Rapporteurs, Commission on Human Rights, 51st Session (E/CN.4/1995/5) (“Our duty is to complete our respective mandates without partiality, without being deflected by considerations such as nationality, gender, ethnic origin, race, religious creed or political opinion, and to do so with complete integrity.”). See also UN Charter, Article 101(3) (UN officials must meet “the highest standards of efficiency, competency and integrity.”).
5. UN Watch has previously documented how Mr. Ziegler has systematically abused his mandate as UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, neglecting many of the worlds’ food emergencies in order to pursue his extremist political agenda. Our reports and other information on Mr. Ziegler’s abuse of mandate are available here. In addition, last year Mr. Ziegler became the only UN human rights expert in history to be denounced by the organization’s highest officials, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, after he publicly compared Israelis to Nazis. “Annan slams UN official,” JTA, July 8, 2005; “Gaza comments by rights expert irresponsible-UN,” Reuters, July 7, 2005.
6. Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2005/53, para. 11(a) (E/CN.4/RES/2005/53).
7. Mr. Ziegler won his second term as Special Rapporteur on a vote of 51 in favor, 1 against, 1 abstaining. Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2003/25, para. 286 (E/CN.4/RES/2003/25). The countries voting in favor were: Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe. The United States voted against, and Australia abstained.
8. “Mandela receives ‘anti-Nobel’ award,” United Press International, April 23, 1989 (Attachment 1). All attachments are available here.
9. “Gaddafi Funds Peace Prize,” The Independent Online Edition, April 25, 1989 (Attachment 2).
10. “Le Nobel de Kadhafi-Les autorités libyennes créent un nouveau prix des droits de l’homme. Jean Ziegler met la main à la pâte,” L’Hebdo, 27 avril 1989 (Attachment 3; full English translation is Attachment 4).
11. “World Notes: Prizes—And the Winner is. . . ,” Time, May 8, 1989 (Attachment 5).
12. “Gaon wins libel suit against Swiss MP,” The Jerusalem Post, December 19, 1991 (Attachment 6).
13. “President Chavez of Venezuela wins International Gaddafi Award for Human Rights,” Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation, December 10, 2004, at http://en.ljbc.net/online/news_details.php?id=475 (Attachment 7); “Oxymoron,” Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 15 Oktober 2004 (citing Libyan press agency Jana as saying the Prize is awarded by an International People’s Committee and Nord-Sud XXI) (Attachment 8).
14. “Gaddafi human rights prize for two dock strike wives,” The Daily Mail (London), September 4, 1997 (stating that Prize “[r]ecipients are chosen annually by a Geneva-based organisation called Nord-Sud 21.”) (Attachment 9).
15. “Un deuxième spectacle autour du Prix Kadhafi,” Le Temps, 30 août 2000 (Attachment 10). See also “Les Noirs demandent réparation pour l’esclavage,” Le Temps, 7 août 2001 (describing North-South XXI as “an NGO installed in Geneva and tied to Libya” and discussing a symposium “ordered and financed by Libya through North-South XXI.”) (Attachment 11).
16. Website of Union interafricaine des Droits de l’Homme (UIDH), at http://www.iuhr.org/article.php3?&id_article=105 (noting that it won the Khaddafi Prize at the “proposal of the NGO North-South XXI.”). Indeed, in a posting on the Human Rights Internet website, UIDH used the fact that the Khaddafi Prize is granted by a northern NGO, based in Geneva with ECOSOC status, to argue against those who criticized it for accepting Libyan money. See http://www.hri.ca/partners/uidh/persp/budget.html (describing how, after UIDH won the Prize, many of its partner institutions stopped funding it because of the Libya affiliation, and arguing that this was incorrect in light of the Prize being awarded by a Northern, Geneva-based, UN-accredited NGO).
17. Entry for North-South XXI on the European Network for Law and Society, at http://www.reds.msh-paris.fr/publications/collvir/delplanque/biblio.htm (describing North-South XXI as “une organisation non gouvernementale de défense des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples, fondée en 1989, ayant un statut consultatif auprès du Conseil Economique et Social des Nations-Unies (ECOSOC). Elle a son siège à GENEVE et édite une revue du même nom. . . .”). [“a non-governmental organization for the defense of human and peoples rights, founded in 1989, having consultative status to the UN ECOSOC. It has its headquarters in Geneva and edits a revue of the same name. . .”].
18. See Written Statement of North-South XXI to the Commission on Human Rights, 55th Session (E/CN.4/1999/NGO/40) (arguing against sanctions in general and against the sanctions on Libya in particular); Written Statement of North-South XXI to the Commission on Human Rights, 54th Session (E/CN.4/1998/NGO/83) (arguing that sanctions against Libya violate children’s rights).
19. www.nordsud21.org (Attachment 12).
20. Id.; UN NGO Database entry for North-South XXI, at http://www2.unog.ch/ngo/ngo_search_document.asp?lang=En&ongid=918 (Attachment 13).
21. Entry for Institut Nord-Sud pour le dialogue interculturel, Registre du commerce de Genève, at http://rc.geneve.ch/rc/consultation/consultationcomplete.asp?no_dossier_fed=CH-660-1684998-3 (Attachment 14).
23. “Le Monde Diplomatique, Revues,” at http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/revues/nordsud; Philippe Corcuff, Liste des publications, at http://www.cerlis.fr/pagesperso/permanents/corcuffphilippepubli.htm (listing one article as follows: “Avec Éric Doidy et Domar Idrissi, “S’émanciper des langues de bois : originalité du langage zapatiste”, dans Club Merleau-Ponty, La pensée confisquée – Quinze idées reçues qui bloquent le débat public, 1997, Paris : La Découverte; réédité en 2001, Nord-Sud XXI (Institut Nord-Sud pour le dialogue interculturel, Genève), n°16 (4)”).
24. “Le Monde Diplomatique, Revues,” at http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/revues/nordsud.
25. Entry for Fondation Nord Sud pour le dialogue interculturel, Registre du commerce de Genève, at http://rc.geneve.ch/rc/consultation/consultationcomplete.asp?no_dossier_fed=CH-660-1881999-1 (Attachment 15).
26. The Fondation’s address in the Geneva registry of commerce is in care of a Geneva fiduciary society. However, an entity called the Nord-Sud Fondation (www.nordsud-dialogue.org), is also found at rue Ferdinand-Hodler 17, and has the same phone number, fax number, email address, and director as North-South XXI (Attachment 16).
27. Entry for Fondation Nord Sud pour le dialogue interculturel, Registre du commerce de Genève, at http://rc.geneve.ch/rc/consultation/consultationcomplete.asp?no_dossier_fed=CH-660-1881999-1 (Attachment 15).
28. Report of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: Election of Members, Commission on Human Rights, 62nd Session, pp. 55-56 (E/CN.4/2006/80).
29. http://www.unige.ch/ses/socio/ziegler.html.
30. http://www.righttofood.org/team.htm.
31. “Une campagne malveillante contre le Suisse et le Professeur Jean Ziegler,” at http://altermonde-levillage.nuxit.net/article.php3?id_article=5574.
32. For example, Libya has cited the existence of the Khaddafi Prize in international fora as evidence of its human rights commitment. See, e.g., “Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination Considers Report of Libya, March 3, 2004, at http://www2.unog.ch/news2/documents/newsen/crd04009e.htm (Libyan delegation “hoped that the Committee was aware of all the activities that the Libyan Government had undertaken to uphold human rights. The Quadafi Human Rights Award was created in 1989 and was bestowed to those who had exemplified the values of human rights.”). Additionally, in a cynical attempt at credibility, the first award was granted to a genuine human rights activist, Nelson Mandela.
33. The Geneva-based NGO CETIM (Centre Europe Tiers Monde), which opposes economic sanctions, was a Khaddafi Prize winner in 2000. CETIM has published Mr. Ziegler’s work, and also has praised him for his “heroic” courage in standing up to the United States in his position as Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Malik Ozden, “La guerre en Irak sonnera-t-elle le glas de l’ONU?,” Le Courrier, 11 avril 2003, at http://www.cetim.ch/fr/documents/03irak-articlecetim.pdf. In its NGO profile on the website of the Centre for Applied Studies in International Negotiation (CASIN), CETIM lists North-South XXI as one of its partner organizations. See http://www.casin.ch/web/pdf/cetim.pdf.
34. Past Khaddafi Prize winners have included Hugo Chavez (2004), Fidel Castro (1998), and “the children of Iraq and victims of hegemony and embargoes” (1999).
35. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamed, the 2005 Prize winner, made a blatantly anti-Semitic speech to an October 2003 meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, in which he blamed Jews for all the world’s problems, among other hateful accusations. 1996 Prize Winner Louis Farrakhan has frequently used racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Roger Garaudy, one of the 2002 Prize recipients (along with Jean Ziegler), was convicted of anti-Semitism and fined $18,000 by a French court for distorting the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust.
36. The 1990 Prize was awarded to the “stone throwing children of Occupied Palestine.”
37. “Al-Gadhafi Human Rights Prize awarded to President Chavez,” Jamahiriya News Agency (Jana), November 24, 2004 (listing past prize recipients including Mr. Ziegler in 2002) (Attachment 17).
38. “French Holocaust denier, Swiss campaigner for victims share Kadhafi prize,” Agence France Presse-English, September 30, 2002 (Attachment 18); “‘Prix Kadhafi des droits de l’homme’ Jean Ziegler et Roger Garaudy parmi les treize lauréats,” Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)-Service de base français, 30 septembre 2002 (Attachment 19). In addition to making him a Prize co-recipient in 2002, Mr. Ziegler reportedly came to Mr. Garaudy’s defense in 1996 in the controversy over his Holocaust-denying book. See “La Tente du lialogue suscite les réserves des invités juifs: La presence sur les listes des invites d’Abdullah al-Turky, secrétaire générale de la Ligue islamique mondiate, et de Michel Lelong, ami du negationniste Roger Garaudy, provoque la perplexité,” Le Temps, 1 juillet 2004 (“En effet, à l’instar de Jean Ziegler et de l’Abbé Pierre, Michel Lelong avait pris la defense de Roger Garaudy en 1996, lorsque ce dernier fut attaqué pour la publication de son livre révisionniste Les mythes fondateurs de la politique israélienne.”) [“In fact, like Jean Ziegler and Father Pierre, Michel Lelong defended Roger Garaudy in 1996, when the latter had been attacked about the publication of his revisionist book The Founding Myths of Israeli Politics.”] (Attachment 20).
39. “French Holocaust denier, Swiss campaigner for victims share Kadhafi prize,” Agence France Presse-English, September 30, 2002 (Attachment 18); “‘Prix Kadhafi des droits de l’homme’ Jean Ziegler et Roger Garaudy parmi les treize lauréats,” Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)-Service de base français, 30 septembre 2002 (Attachment 19).
40. “Jean Ziegler refuse le ‘prix Kadhafi des droits de l’homme,’ ” Le Temps, 2 octobre 2002 (Attachment 21). At that time, 100,000 CHF amounted to around US$67,000.
41. “Swiss human rights campaigner turns down ‘Kadhafi’ award,” Agence France Presse-English, October 1, 2002 (Attachment 22); “‘Prix Kadhafi pour les droits de l’homme’ Jean Ziegler a refuse la recompense,” Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)-Service de base français, 1 octobre 2002 (Attachment 23); “Jean Ziegler refuse le ‘prix Kadhafi des droits de l’homme,’ ” Le Temps, 2 octobre 2002 (Attachment 21).
42. “Jean Ziegler refuse le ‘prix Kadhafi des droits de l’homme,’ ” Le Temps, 2 octobre 2002 (Attachment 21). In fact, Mr. Ziegler has accepted awards, such as the “SwissAward” in January 2005.
43. A March 2002 official filing with the canton of Geneva lists Mr. Ziegler as vice-chairman of the Institut Nord-Sud approximately six months before he won the Prize. Feuille d’Avis Officielle du canton de Genève, lundi 18 mars 2002, 442/10, at http://www.geneve.ch/fao/pdfs/250_032.pdf (Attachment 24). Additionally, in September 2003, Mr. Ziegler signed a petition on behalf of the Fondation Nord-Sud. “Pétition pour l’annulation de la dette de l’Iraq et pour l’exigence de reparations,” at http://www.lagauche.com/lagauche/article.php3?id_article=640 (signature of “Ziegler Jean (écrivain, Fondation Nord-Sud pour le Dialogue, Suisse)”) (Attachment 25).
44. “Le Prix Kadhafi des droits de l’homme quatre fin,” Agence Jamahiriya Presse (Jana), November 30, 2005, at http://www.jananews.com/Page.aspx?PageID=16211 (Attachment 26). See also http://www.libyen-news.de/November2004-teil2.htm (listing Ziegler as 2002 Khaddafi Prize recipient in November 2004) (Attachment 27).
45. “Führerstaat, Frisch gestrichen,” Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 25 Dezember 2005 (Attachment 28). Coincidentally or not, Mr. Ziegler’s Geneva research center was founded in 1989, the same year in which Mr. Ziegler announced the Libyan leader’s $10 million bequest for the Khaddafi Prize, and in which North-South XXI was founded.
46. UN officials are supposed to disclose “any leadership or policymaking role in any non-United Nations entity” and any “involvement in any other activity that could have an impact on the [official’s] objectivity or independence . . . or otherwise affect the [UN’s] image or reputation.” UN Document ST/SGB/2005/19. They also must make certain financial disclosures, including of gifts or favours from a government of more than a specified amount (currently $250; or $10,000 prior to December 2005). This latter provision may be implicated if Mr. Ziegler did in fact accept, but did not disclose, any money from the 2002 Khaddafi Prize.
47. Swiss Criminal Code Article 261bis prohibits, among other racist acts, the denial, gross minimization, or attempt to justify a genocide or other crimes against humanity.