Humanitarians and Human Rights Activists
| Yang Jianli, Former Chinese political prisoner
I commend the exemplary efforts of everyone affiliated with UN Watch and extend my appreciation for your many valuable contributions in advancing the global cause of human rights. Working with victims of human rights violations and human rights defenders around the world, UN Watch has wisely and relentlessly insisted on measuring what the UN and its members say in regard to human rights and justice against what they actually do. UN Watch has established itself as a unique and indispensable voice of the ordinary citizens around the world who live under dictatorships and who are not represented at the UN by their governments. |
 Garry Kasparov, Chair of Human Rights Foundation Under Hillel Neuer’s leadership, UN Watch has become an organization feared by dictatorships worldwide, regardless of their political affiliation. When so few were willing, Hillel and his brave colleagues have provided brave dissidents, defectors, and defenders of human rights a platform from where to speak truth to power. We congratulate him on his noble work and encourage him to continue standing up to tyranny and injustice. |
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Our founder, Congressman Tom Lantos, was a great admirer of UN Watch and considered your work to be one of the most effective means of helping the United Nations measure up to the yardstick of its own charter. He used to quote an old Hungarian proverb: “You know a bird by its feathers, a man by his friends,” and it seems apt here. Despots and dictators around the world are no friends of UN Watch, but your many friends and admirers along with all men and women of good will and high ideals join together to applaud your past and cheer your future. |
John Suarez, International Secretary of Directorio Democrático Cubano There is not enough space to outline all the acts of solidarity in which UN Watch has spoken out for Cuba’s human rights defenders and also denounced the double standard that finds the 54-year-old totalitarian dictatorship in Cuba given a free pass by the UN Human Rights Council. UN Watch has been steadfast friend of Cuban human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists over the years and with the establishment of the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy in 2009 has provided Cuban former prisoners of conscience a platform to denounce the human rights situation in Cuba. UN Watch has more than lived up to its mission statement of ensuring that the United Nations live up to its own founding principles. |
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Carl Gershman, President, National Endowment for Democracy UN Watch has distinguished itself in two important ways. It has created an international platform to highlight human rights problems that the U.N. has neglected. And it has repeatedly called the United Nations to a higher standard, reminding it of the price it has paid in reputation and effectiveness by succumbing to the designs of cynical and undemocratic governments. Hillel Neuer has done this important work with class and character, demonstrating both tactical imaginativeness and a fearless devotion to democratic values. People who care about democracy and human rights are in his debt, as are those who continue to believe that the U.N. can regain its balance and fulfill the hopes of its founders. |
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Jacob Mchangama, Co-founder of The Freedom Rights Project and director of legal affairs of the Copenhagen based think-tank CEPOS In a time where basic freedom is in retreat and dictators sit in judgment of each other’s human rights records, it is vital that someone calls out the hypocrisy and demand respect for the foundational values of the international human rights system. UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer has heeded that call and serves as an invaluable voice for taking human rights seriously. In him freedom has a loyal friend and tyranny an indefatigable enemy. |
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Robert L. Bernstein, Founding Chair of Human Rights Watch, former President and CEO of Random House, Chairman of Advancing Human Rights UN Watch is the most important organization continually bringing to light the visible record of the United Nations Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly. UN Watch’s work is essential, and it is my hope that both individuals and organizations will support its critical work. |
Political Leaders
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Professor Irwin Cotler, former Canadian Minister of Justice As tragic human rights violations emerge, UN Watch is at times a lone voice for truth and for justice both at the UN and in the international media. Executive Director Hillel Neuer’s tireless global advocacy is a continued source of comfort—a fearless and principled voice for the voiceless. |
 Karin S. Woldseth, Member of the Parliament of Norway (2001-2013)
As a member of parliament in Norway, it is essential for me to follow the work of UN Watch. The problem in the Norwegian debate has been that if you raise a critical question about the UN, you’re doomed. I know because I have tried. UN Watch makes contributions that serve as an arsenal in this debate, contributions that one cannot just swipe away but must address. UN Watch is one of the most valuable resources among the international NGOs dealing with foreign policy, and throughout the years I’m pleased to say that we have cooperated extensively on many issues related to the affairs of the United Nations. The task of monitoring the UN is an important one, and no one does this monitoring better than UN Watch. Keep up the good work. |
Pål Arne Davidsen, Former State Secretary of Norwegian Foreign Ministry UN Watch and Hillel Neuer have been one of the most influential forces in inspiring the human rights agenda of my party. Your work has led to numerous political interventions in the Norwegian parliament and abroad. You have also been an important corrective to the state-sanctioned agenda in the UNHRC in Geneva. |
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Senator Linda Frum, Senate of Canada UN Watch is an effective and powerful voice for the promotion of human rights and democracy around the world. It remains faithful to the principles upon which the UN was founded—even when the UN itself does not. For all those who care about the just application of UN Charter principles, no other organization does a better job of holding the UN to account. |
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John Mann, Member of British Parliament UN Watch works relentlessly to make the United Nations a fairer institution and speaks out against abuses of its mechanisms. In an environment where politicization of the system often leads to severe human rights violations going unchecked, UN Watch is there to ensure that the victims of these are represented and heard. I would like to wish UN Watch all the very best and much courage to continue its work in the way it has done over the last 20 years. |
