Raising the Stakes: Leaked Emails Revealing Bias

According to disturbing internal emails (see below) from the first tranche of those leaked to UN Watch by other concerned UN colleagues of Tistounet, when the latter learned in November 2007 that Hillel Neuer was the victim of a wrongful arrest by U.S. police in a case of mistaken identity, his response, copied to the team of some 50 UNHRC staff, was “You made my day.” 

Calling this “a wonder come true” Tistounet further attempted to use this opportunity to knowingly spread misinformation and defame Neuer writing to his staff: “Question is: how to put it on youtube without leaving a trace. It would be nice if someone (obviously from outside the UN, and as was suggested recently from an internet café for instance) could place it discreetly next to his videos concerning the Council…”  

Perhaps most disturbing Tistounet dreamed of having an Interpol arrest warrant against Neuer and told his staff to violate UN procedures to comply with it if it came.

In the emails below Tistounet wrote to his UNHRC staff:

“Forgot to mention: Should the individual below [Hillel Neuer] be subjected to an Interpol arrest warrant (so called ‘red notices’), do not hesitate to let us know. I have the feeling that in this specific circumstance we may ponder about the validity of these Interpol tools in a less dogmatic manner. It may be the case that together with the civil society unit we may forget to raise our usual objection to the Security Unit when they will exclude him from the list of those authorized to enter our premises… Cheers, eric” 

In other words, the chief of staff to the world’s highest human rights body instructed his staff to violate their own UN procedures to comply with any false Interpol arrest warrant that might be filed against Neuer, in order, he hoped, to block his entry to UN premises in Geneva, and thereby prevent him from testifying before the Human Rights Council plenary.