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Natalia Arno, a Russian dissident invited to speak by UN Watch, told the UN Human Rights Council how Russia’s repression follows dissidents beyond its borders.

After fleeing Russia in 2012 following threats of 20 years in prison for her democracy work, Arno faced surveillance, intimidation and cyberattacks in exile. Three years ago, she was poisoned in Europe.

“Dictatorships do not need to silence everyone. They only need to make everyone wonder: Am I next?”

Arno called on democracies to confront transnational repression and ensure that exile means safety.

Transcript:

Vice-President of the Human Rights Council: We shall now begin the Interactive Dialogue on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation.

Natalia Arno: Mr. President, I fled my home country, Russia, in 2012 after security services threatened me with 20 years in prison for state treason for my democracy work.

I crossed the border, but the repression crossed it too.

In exile, I was followed, intimidated, and cyber-attacked.

Three years ago, I was poisoned in Europe. But I’m only one of thousands.

Russia imprisons dissidents at home and hunts us abroad. 

Exiled Russians face surveillance, threats against their families, extradition requests, digital and physical attacks. 

Dictatorships do not need to silence everyone. They only need to make everyone wonder: am I next?

This is the real power of transnational repression. 

So I ask this Council: what is the meaning of refugee if persecution can follow you even in democratic countries?

No one should escape repression at home only to face it again in exile. A border should be a line repression cannot cross. 

Democracies must be clear. Those who conduct and order transnational repression will face consequences. 

Exile must mean safety. And ultimately, our security depends on both a sovereign and secure Ukraine and free and democratic Russia. 

Victory to Ukraine. Freedom to Russia. 

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GENEVA, June 17, 2026 — The Russian government has imposed a permanent entry ban on UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, placing him on a list of 103 Canadian citizens sanctioned by Moscow for what it described as involvement in “anti-Russian activities.”

The announcement was made yesterday by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which accused those named of “discrediting the constitutional order and foreign policy” of Russia and of activities “aimed at the unlawful confiscation of sovereign Russian state assets.”

Those blacklisted along with Neuer include Canadian cabinet ministers, senators, MPs, the defence chief and Canada’s former ambassador to Russia, William Westdal.

Neuer, a Canadian citizen and international human rights advocate, led the campaign to expel Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, and works closely with Russian dissidents to fight abuses by the Putin regime.

UN Watch, an independent non-governmental human rights organization based in Switzerland, which leads the 25-NGO coalition that holds the annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, has campaigned for the freedom of imprisoned Russian dissidents, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, hosted democracy leaders such as Garry Kasparov and family members of Alexei Navalny, and amplified the voices of Ukrainian victims of Russian aggression. (Click here to see UN Watch’s action for human rights in Russia.)

Over two decades, Neuer has often taken the floor at the United Nations to challenge Russia’s human rights record.

Neuer was recently honored in Canada with the King Charles III Coronation Medal, for making an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.

“Badge of Honor”

“Being banned by Vladimir Putin’s regime is not a punishment, but a badge of honor,” said Neuer. “Russia is one of the world’s leading jailers of political opponents, a serial violator of human rights, and the aggressor in a brutal war against Ukraine. If speaking out for freedom, democracy, and human rights earns me a place on the Kremlin’s blacklist, then I accept it proudly.”

“Russia can add my name to whatever list it wants. It won’t change the facts, and it won’t change our work,” said Neuer. “The Kremlin’s blacklist is not a deterrent. It only motivates us to keep fighting the Kremlin’s repression. We will continue standing with Russian dissidents, exposing human rights abuses, speaking for the victims of Russia’s aggression.”

Russia Lashes Out Over Ukraine

Russia’s statement lashed out at Canada’s “political elite” for its “hostile line” and “denying Russia’s rights and interests,“ and condemned Ottawa for “interference in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation.” supporting “the neo-Nazi authorities in Kyiv,” and “encouragement of the Kyiv junta to commit terrorist acts.”

Neuer dismissed the Kremlin’s allegations. “Russia’s rulers fear scrutiny because they cannot defend their record,” said Neuer. “From the murder of political opponents to the imprisonment of dissidents, from the bombardment of Ukrainian cities to systematic repression at home, the Kremlin has built a system sustained by force, censorship, and intimidation.”

Neuer joins a long list of human rights defenders, journalists, lawmakers, democratic leaders and celebrities who have been blacklisted or sanctioned by Moscow for criticizing the regime, including Senator John McCain, Garry Kasparov, Bill Browder, Anthony Blinken, Morgan Freeman, Sean Penn, and Ben Stiller.

“History teaches that authoritarian governments often target their critics abroad when they cannot silence them at home,” he said. “The proper response is not silence, but more truth-telling.”

“Russia can bar me from entering its territory,” said Neuer. “It cannot bar us from exposing injustice. UN Watch will continue to speak out for the victims of tyranny, whether in Moscow, Tehran, Beijing, Caracas, or anywhere else.”

Founded in 1993, UN Watch is a Geneva-based independent human rights organization that monitors the performance of the United Nations according to the principles of its Charter.

Background: Why Russia Sanctioned UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer

Following are a selection of Hillel Neuer’s interventions for human rights and democracy in Russia, as presented at the United Nations and in the media, which preceded his being blacklisted by the Kremlin for “anti-Russian” activities.

Led Successful Campaign To Expel Russia from U.N. Human Rights Council

CNN breaking news with John Berman interviews Hillel Neuer, April 4, 2022:

Hillel Neuer, U.N. Watch: For God’s sake, Russia cannot be a member of the United Nations’ highest human rights body… Countries that commit gross and systematic abuses can be removed. And in 2010, we campaigned to remove Gadhafi’s Libyan regime. And that succeeded after Gadhafi launched a war against his own people. We’ve now launched the same campaign against Russia. We’ve drafted a resolution. But we need a member state to introduce it.

Berman: What has been the reaction so far from the United Nations and officials there?

Neuer: Well, sadly, and I would say strangely, when the spokesperson of the United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, was asked last week about this, he said that they have a certain level of concern about our campaign. And he said — and there was 12 U.S. senators that wrote a letter to the U.S. ambassador, calling for her to take action — and the U.N. chief said there’s a certain level of concern. And he said it would “set a dangerous precedent.”

Now, this is a very strange thing. The U.N. chief is not supposed to get involved. It’s a member state issue. And for them to say it’s a dangerous precedent, we think it’s dangerous to let a government, a regime that is slaughtering innocent people, as we’ve seen on these terrible images from Bucha, that has launched aggression against the U.N. member state, causing millions of people to leave their homes, we think it’s dangerous to have them sitting on the U.N.’s top human rights body.

UN Debate: Called Out Russian Assassination of Journalists, Persecution of Dissidents, Military Invasions

Speech delivered by Hillel Neuer to the United Nations Human Rights Council, June 27, 2018

Hillel Neuer, U.N. Watch: Mr. President, we reject the attempt by brutal regimes to use the United Nations to corrupt the language and idea of human rights.
Indeed, regular people around the world ask: “Why does a human rights council include so many non-democracies?”

Defenders of the system have a ready reply: “We need a big tent,” they say, “so that countries with poor records can engage, learn and improve.”

Well, perhaps nations with spotty records, but who actually wish to make progress, can be embraced and given technical cooperation, for example, to train their judges or police.

But does the UN have to keep electing the world’s worst abusers, dictatorships whose only intent is to win a false badge of international legitimacy?

I ask all those here who propagate the “big tent” theory: Since Vladimir Putin’s Russia was elected again and again to this Council, over a decade, did he learn and improve? Or on the contrary, did Russia assassinate more journalists, persecute more dissidents and launch more deadly military invasions than ever before?

Since China was elected repeatedly to this Council, did the Communist rulers learn and improve? Or did they crush more dissidents, like Liu Xiaobo, than ever before?

And I want to know: Since Venezuela was elected and reelected to this Council, did Chavez and Maduro learn and improve? Or did they arrest, persecute and jail more opposition leaders, like Mayor Antonio Ledezma of Caracas?

UNHRC President: Point of order from Venezuela.

Venezuela: It is unacceptable in this Human Rights Council for an NGO to use offensive language which is not allowed by the regulations of the United Nations. We launch an appeal for proper language to be used when referring to the honor of our political leaders. My country respects freedom of expression but this cannot be understood as giving permission or carte blanche to demonize any country. The Human Rights Council is a forum for promoting dialogue and not confrontation. Abusive and offensive language towards my country, and towards the political leaders in my country, we do not tolerate. President, we hope that you will call this speaker to order.

UNHRC President: Thank you very much. I would like to call on everyone to adhere to a language that is commensurate with the dignity inherent to the discussion of human rights issues. Tolerance and respect should be the key words of the work of this Council. With this in mind, I give back the floor to the speaker.

Hillel Neuer: What is offensive is that Venezuela kills protesters and uses this Council as carte blanche to cover up their abuses. “Big tent,” Mr. President? No: Big lie.

UN Intervention: Spoke Out For Russian Prisoners of Conscience Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara Murza

Speech delivered by Hillel Neuer to the United Nations Human Rights Council, March 23, 2023:

Hillel Neuer, U.N. Watch: Thank you Mr President. We’ve been listening to numerous countries telling us how much they care about human rights, but as we work closely with victims, including families of political prisoners, we wish to pose some questions. We ask Russia: If you really care about human rights, why do you imprison the leaders of your democratic opposition, Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara Murza?  Both were targeted in the past by near fatal poisonings. Why are you subjecting them to conditions in which their health is rapidly deteriorating?

 

UN Debate: Called Out Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s Lies Defending Putin’s War on Ukraine

Speech delivered by Hillel Neuer to the United Nations Human Rights Council, March 4, 2022:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: It is precisely the policy of the collective west, led by Washington, that has led to the Kiev regime going to wage war against its own people since 2014, against all those who don’t agree with the neo-Nazi values of the Maidan, with the criminal policies of the Ukrainian authorities.

All these massive and systematic attacks on the rights and freedoms, and the consistent dissemination of neo-nazism, are carried out with the open connivance of the United States, Canada, and the European Union. Russia could not remain indifferent.

The purpose of our action is to save these people and to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine. As President Putin has repeatedly stressed, we have an unwavering respect for the Ukrainian people, their language and traditions. We do not intend in any way to infringe on the interests of the citizens of Ukraine.

The role of the UN Human Rights Council is to promote a mutually respectful debate without any politicization or double standards, and to ensure that human rights issues are not used to interfere in internal affairs

UNHRC President: United Nations Watch has the floor.

Hillel Neuer, U.N. Watch: Mr. President, we welcome this urgent meeting on Russia’s aggression against the people of Ukraine.

On the 24^th of February, the Ukrainian Ambassador requested this council to meet “as urgently as possible.” Now, in other, past situations, the council convened within a day. Why this time, on Russian aggression, did it wait a full week? For the men, women and children under attack, every day of delay by the international community is lethal.

This Council just heard from the Russian Foreign Minister. He said President Putin has “an unwavering respect for the Ukrainian people,” and that “we do not intend in any way to infringe on the interests of the citizens of Ukraine.”

Mr. President, the opposite is true.

The truth is that Russian forces invaded Ukraine, in flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and international law.

The truth is that Russian forces are bombing cities indiscriminately, killing and wounding innocent civilians, a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.

The truth is that Russia’s assault on Ukraine has turned more than half a million people to flee their homes for neighboring countries, killed an estimated 2,000 people, and injured many more. The truth is that Russia is committing war crimes.

And so question before us today is this: Will the international community defend the rules-based international order?

Dictators around the world are watching. If they see that Russia succeeds in its wanton aggression, they will draw the lesson—that anything goes. We will see more invasions, more tyrannies attacking their neighbors, and more terrorism.

The whole world is watching.

Are the United Nations and this Council prepared to defend international peace and basic human rights, and to oppose aggression on a scale unseen in Europe since World War II? Will they uphold their responsibility to defend the rules-based international order?

Let us consider. Two years ago, despite our urgent appeals not to do it, the United Nations elected Russia as a member of this Human Rights Council.

This violated the Council’s own rules. Members are obliged to uphold the highest standards of human rights. Mr. President, does this Council believe that Russia’s bombing of civilians in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other cities and towns across Ukraine upholds the highest standards of human rights?

Under the Council’s rules, members can be removed on account of gross and systematic violations of human rights.

Therefore, if this council is serious about human rights, here’s what it must do:

1: Remove Russia from the Council immediately.

2: Adopt a resolution on the situation of human rights within Russia itself.

3: Establish an independent monitor to protect courageous Russian dissidents, such as Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Muzra, both of whom were poisoned.

4: Abolish the mandate of this Council known as the Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures, the purpose of which is to define sanctions against Russia and other dictatorships as illegal.

5: Demand the High Commissioner and independent experts speak out against the crimes in Ukraine.

Mr. President, the people of Ukraine are under assault. The world is watching. The time to act is now. Thank you.

UN Intervention: Introduced a Resolution to Remove Russia from the UN Human Rights Council

Speech delivered by Hillel Neuer to the United Nations Human Rights Council, March 22, 2022:

Hillel Neuer, U.N. Watch: Mr. President, we reject this attempt by the world’s most brutal regimes to use the United Nations to corrupt the language and idea of human rights.

Indeed, regular people around the world ask: why does a Human Rights Council include so many non-democracies? Defenders of the system have a ready reply — “we need a big tent,” they say, so that countries with poor records can engage, learn, and improve.

Well, perhaps nations with spotty records, but who actually wish to make progress, can be embraced and given technical cooperation, for example to train their judges or police.

But does the UN have to keep electing the world’s worst abusers — dictatorships whose only intent is to win a false badge of international legitimacy?

We ask all those who propagate the big tent theory: Since Vladimir Putin’s Russia was elected again and again to this council over a decade and a half, did he learn and improve? Or on the contrary, did Russia only assassinate more journalists, poison more dissidents, and launch more deadly military invasions than ever before?

Mr. President, we hereby request that this council adopt a resolution under paragraph 8 of resolution 60/251, calling on the General Assembly to remove Russia as a member of this council. Our proposed text, which we circulated to delegates, can be found at unwatch.org. Thank you, Mr. President.

UN Intervention: Spoke on Behalf of 25 NGOs Demanding Russia Release Vladimir Kara-Murza

Speech delivered by Hillel Neuer to the United Nations Human Rights Council, May 12, 2022:

Hillel Neuer, U.N. Watch: Mr. President, we deliver this statement on behalf of a cross-regional civil society coalition, as listed at www.unwatch.org/FreeKaraMurza.

Russia’s war on Ukraine will stop when Russians are able to express their opposition.

That is why we hereby call on Secretary-General Guterres and High Commissioner Bachelet to speak out and demand that Russia release all prisoners of conscience whose only crime was opposing this war.

One of these prisoners is my friend Vladimir Kara-Murza, a brilliant author, historian and filmmaker, also one of Russia’s most prominent opposition politicians.

His close associate, opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, was assassinated in Moscow in 2015.

Because of his dissent, Vladimir himself was poisoned and went into a coma. Not once, but twice, in 2015 and 2017.

Despite the dangers, Vladimir stays in Russia, refusing to give up his fight for democracy.  “In Russia,” he said, “the biggest gift that opponents of the regime could give the Kremlin would be to leave. This is what they want from us.”

And now he is once again paying the price.

On April 11th, Vladimir was arrested outside his Moscow home after a CNN interview where he criticized the Kremlin’s aggression. He was sentenced to 15 days in prison. Then, on April 22^nd, Vladimir was prosecuted under a draconian new law that criminalizes the spreading of so-called fake information about the military.

Mr. President, Vladimir is being arbitrarily detained for exercising his basic right to freedom of expression.

When will High Commissioner Bachelet speak out? Thank you.

 

Campaign Video: Called Out the UN’s Failure to Act Against Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Statement by Hillel Neuer outside the Palais des Nations, February 24, 2022:

Hillel Neuer, U.N. Watch: We expect the United Nations’ top human rights body, which is right behind me, to be taking urgent and compelling action, to do whatever it can to send the message to Moscow that the international community refuses to be silent in the face of its trampling of universal human rights. Sadly, the UN Human Rights Council, a 47-nation body, has done absolutely nothing so far in response to Russia’s aggression. There have been zero urgent sessions, there have been zero resolutions, and there have been zero commissions of inquiry.

[…] We are calling for action. Here’s what we’re calling for: there is a minority of democracies on the Human Rights Council — the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands — they can convene an emergency session, they can do that today, they only need 16 countries. We’re calling for an urgent session to condemn Russia’s military assault on Ukraine, gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, to create a commission of inquiry to hold Vladimir Putin to account under international law.

And we’re calling for something else. We’re calling finally for the United Nations — and this will be the General Assembly — to take action to expel Vladimir Putin from the Human Rights Council. Russia never should have been elected. We lobbied against it. We were with Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was poisoned twice by the Russian regime, and we lobbied against Russia being elected. Sadly, no one in Europe said a single thing — Russia was elected to the Human Rights Council. They need to be expelled.

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On March 17, 2026, Russian opposition leader and former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza addressed the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Less than two years after his release from a maximum-security Siberian prison in a historic 2024 exchange, Kara-Murza delivers a powerful plea to the international community to prioritize human lives over political expediency.

Full Speech:

Vladimir Kara-Murza: Thank you, Mr. President. My name is Vladimir Kara-Murza, and I am honoured to speak before this council.

I am also very happy to be here — and this is not a figure of speech.

20 months ago, I was sitting in solitary confinement at a maximum-security prison in Siberia, one of hundreds of my fellow Russian citizens imprisoned for opposing Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.

I am here today because in August 2024, five democratic countries — the United States, Germany, Poland, Norway, and Slovenia — organised an international prisoner exchange that freed 16 people from Russia’s modern-day Gulag.

Our exchange showed that democracies, when they stand on values and work together, are stronger than any despot can ever hope to be.

In recent weeks, this very city, Geneva, has hosted talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost as a result of this unprovoked, illegal aggression. No one can bring them back.

But countries in this room still can save thousands of captives of this war. Ukrainian civilian hostages held in Russian custody. Ukrainian children abducted into Russia. Russian political prisoners jailed because of their opposition to the war.

Their release must be an essential part of any ceasefire agreement.

We often hear about discussions over territories, sanctions, frozen assets, rare earth minerals.

When the talks resume, isn’t it time to put people first?

I thank you very much and I yield back.

Russian dissident addresses United Nations:

“Thank you, Mr. President. My name is Vladimir Kara-Murza, and I am honoured to speak before this council.

I am also very happy to be here — and this is not a figure of speech.

Twenty months ago, I was sitting in solitary confinement… pic.twitter.com/mOTwlKOJUX

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) March 18, 2026

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Watch as UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer is the only person in the room to call out regime-proxy Alena Douhan for hijacking the Human Rights Council to attack the West and excuse despots, all while collecting over $1,000,000 from China, Russia, and Qatar. 

Background: The Sanctions Mandate

The UN mandate on Unilateral Coercive Measures (UCMs), a technical term for sanctions, was established by an Iran-sponsored resolution in 2014, with the support of Russia, China, Venezuela, and Cuba. Its primary objective is to invert reality: claiming that Western sanctions, not repressive governments, are to blame for humanitarian crises in targeted countries.

This process grants the facade of UN legitimacy to the twisted narrative that Western nations cause the mass suffering of people in Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, and elsewhere. Since sanctions limit the economic power dictators use to secure citizen loyalty, these regimes opt to manipulate the UN and its multi-million dollar reports and conferences funded by your tax dollars, to advance their propaganda and absolve themselves of accountability. To citizens living under strict censorship, the regime-controlled media then reports that an independent and “objective” UN body has “concluded” that their repressive leaders are, in fact, the victims.

The absurdity is furthered by the fact that during the annual UCM debates at the Human Rights Council, regimes inundate the UN with front groups masquerading as legitimate human rights organizations to pollute the dialogue and spread further propaganda.

At the latest Human Rights Council session, a Panel Discussion on UCMs was held, featuring the UCMs mandate holder, Alena Douhan, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk. All NGOs that spoke, except for UN Watch, were regime front groups (GONGOs) acting under the guise of legitimate human rights defenders.

Of the six NGOs that spoke on the UCM panel, five were based in Tehran or Havana. Given how these regimes treat genuine human rights advocates, their location alone makes it clear that they operate in affiliation with their respective regimes. A brief review of their work confirms it.

1. The Cuban United Nations Association (Havana-based)

• Affiliation: Its leaders include former top communist politicians and diplomats, such as the former Cuban Ambassador to Belgium, Norma Goicochea Estenoz, a key member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, Juan Marinello, and a high-ranking communist politician who served under both Batista and Fidel Castro, Carlos Rafael Rodríguez.
• Propaganda: The group openly states it identifies with the Cuban regime, asserting that the Cuban legal order “protects the exercise of civil, political, cultural, economic and social rights”—a blatant misrepresentation of reality. They routinely accuse the US of a “genocidal campaign against Cuba.”

2. Jameh Ehyagaran Teb Sonnati Va Salamat Iranian (Tehran-based)

• Red Flags: Lacks a public website or identifiable leadership, classic indicators of a GONGO that is only activated to spout propaganda during relevant UN debates, such as the UCM and UPR debates.
• Propaganda: Their limited work focuses on anti-UCM rhetoric. They went so far as to claim that “Western countries (commit) medicinal bio-terrorism,” while predictably ignoring the thousands of Iranian protestors harmed by the regime’s own medical neglect and violence.

3. Medical Support Association for Underprivileged Iranian Patients (Tehran-based)

• Red Flags: Practically no publicly available information; their only activity online is related to UCMs, exposing them as a clear regime front-group.

4. Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (Tehran-based)

• Propaganda: Publishes articles that are blatantly anti-US and anti-Israel (labeling Israel as “pure evil”). In contrast, they compiled official quotes to praise Iran, commending its “significant role in the region” and its “innovative and progressive model of a free and inclusive electoral system”—a surreal claim given Iran’s authoritarian system.

5. Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims (Tehran-based)

• Propaganda: While they blamed German police for mistreating arrestees in their German UPR submission, their Iran UPR submission makes zero mention of Iranian police blinding or beating protestors. It focuses exclusively on the impact of UCMs.

Quotes from the UN Debate: 

Russia: Large-scale and uncontrolled use by Western countries of unilateral coercive measures (UCMs) contradict the UN’s fundamental human rights documents.

Islamic Republic of Iran: Financial and trade sanctions are unlawful, and contrary to the Charter of the United Nations.

UN Rapporteur Alena Douhan: It is a privilege for me to participate today in the biennial panel meeting on the impact of unilateral sanctions. Unilateral sanctions regimes violate fundamental human rights, the right to life, right to decent life, freedom from torture, prohibition of discrimination…

UN Rights Chief Volker Turk: Unilateral coercive measures that are inconsistent with international law pose serious risks to the enjoyment of human rights.

Venezuela: Unilateral coercive measures are counter to the United Nations Charter and international law, and are applied as weapons of war.

Cuba: The economic, commercial, financial blockade imposed by the US government has devastating effects on all sectors of Cuban society, in particular, on the right to food.

Pakistan: On unilateral coercive measures (UCMs), Pakistan has consistently maintained that they contravene the UN Charter.

China: UCMs are pure and simple hegemony.

Hillel Neuer, UN Watch:

Madam Chair, this panel is premised on the idea that the greatest threat to human rights today comes from Western sanctions.

In truth, the gravest assault on human dignity comes from authoritarian governments that oppress, jail, and torture their own people.

And so we ask this panel, Is it right that the Special Rapporteur, Ms Douhan, has traveled to Qatar, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Iran, Syria and China, not to defend the victims of these dictatorships, but to lend a UN imprimatur to the propaganda of the oppressors?

Ms Douhan, when the people of Venezuela cried out under Maduro’s misrule, when Syrians were bombed and slaughtered by Assad, when Iranian women were beaten for showing their hair, what was your response? To blame the West and excuse the despots.

Why did your office get $50,000 from Qatar? Why $265,000 from Russia? Why $980,000 from China? Who believes that Sheik Tamim, Vladimir, Putin and Xi Jinping gave $1.3 million to help human rights victims?

And let us be clear, sanctions are not the cause of hunger in Cuba, it comes from a one party system that, for decades, has denied its people freedom, choice, and prosperity.

Ordinary Cubans know it is not sanctions that prevent them from growing food freely or importing without state control, it’s their rulers in Havana.

The UN should be defending victims, not enabling their oppressors. By turning this council into a platform against the West, today’s discussion betrays its mandate.

If we care about human rights, let us first demand accountability from the governments that oppress their own people. I thank you. Vice

UNHRC Vice-President: I cannot fail to notice that we have here derogative language or remarks, and that some of them are personal in nature. This is not acceptable in this forum. No personal attacks against mandate holders should be made in this setting, and I will now continue with the speakers list.

Cuba: Thank you Vice President. Cuba categorically rejects the offensive, out-of-order, politicized comments by UN Watch, a so-called NGO, which, far from constructively contributing to the work of the council, dedicates itself systematically to manipulation, provocation, and insulting sovereign states. It is shameful and unacceptable…

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Statement by United Nations Watch, delivered by UN Watch’s Morris B. Abram Fellow Eden Kohane before the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 22 September 2025. Agenda Item 4, Interactive dialogue with Commission of Inquiry Ukraine.

Full Speech:

United Nations Watch welcomes the Commission of Inquiry’s update and is gravely concerned about human rights in Ukraine.

Russia’s relentless bombardment across Ukraine deliberately targeting critical infrastructure and indiscriminately killing civilians has escalated in both scale and brutality.

Since this Council’s last session, Ukraine has endured its deadliest month since Russia’s invasion began with 286 civilian deaths recorded in July.

Only last Wednesday, Russia launched a drone attack in the Poltava region killing six civilians and striking a gas station. The very next day, a wave of strikes hit substations powering Ukraine’s national rail network, disrupting infrastructure essential for civilian life and the country’s defense.

Russia has waged this brutal offensive not alone but with the backing of UN member states.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has fueled Russia’s war in Ukraine by supplying Shahed drones and transferring technology that enables Moscow to manufacture them domestically.

North Korea is sustaining Russia’s offensive by deploying an estimated 14,000 troops to Ukraine.

Even children are not spared from Russia’s aggression. Since 2022 more than 6,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia and occupied Crimea held in over 200 facilities where they are subjected to political indoctrination and in many cases military training.

This Council must speak out for these stolen children, protect Ukraine’s civilians, defend its sovereignty, and ensure accountability for Russia and its supporters.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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Statement by United Nations Watch and Ingénieurs du Monde, delivered by UN Watch’s Morris B. Abram Fellow Alex Blecker before the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 3 July 2025. Agenda Item 10, Oral Presentation of the High Commissioner on Ukraine.

Full Speech:

Mr. President,

1,226. That is how many days Ukraine has endured Russia’s brutal and unlawful invasion. 

Each passing day not only claims more innocent lives, but it deepens the failure of this Council to uphold its mandate.

The findings in this report by the Secretary-General are abhorrent and demand immediate action by member states.

Mr. President, the testimonies in this report reveal that both Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war are being raped and sexually assaulted at the hands of Russian forces.

The U.N. has documented Ukrainian civilians dying in Russian custody after being tortured, abused, and denied even the most basic principles under international law.

Ukrainian children have been stolen from their homes and transferred to Russia. Their whereabouts remain unknown, as Russian authorities obstruct the efforts of the Red Cross.

Meanwhile, inside Russia and across the territories it illegally occupies, fundamental freedoms of expression are under siege. Ukrainian identity is criminalized. 

Mr. President,

The international community can no longer remain idle. Russia’s aggression is not only a war on Ukraine — it is a war on human rights, on accountability, and on the very principles this Council was created to defend.

1,226 days. How many more before this Council takes decisive action?

Thank you.

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“It’s like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch. “Electing repressive regimes like China, Russia and Turkey to a key UN council, which has the power to expel human rights groups from the UN, is a moral outrage, and shame on our democracies who were complicit.”

Neuer called on UN chief Antonio Guterres, UN rights chief Volker Türk and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to condemn the election of dictatorships to ECOSOC.

“Today’s election diminishes the credibility of the United Nations human rights system and casts a shadow upon the reputation of the organization as a whole,” Neuer said.

Russia won 115 votes, or 61% of those voting in the UN General Assembly ballot yesterday. Turkey won 174 votes (92%); China won 180 votes (95%); Chad won 183 votes (96%); Burundi won 184 votes (97%). Another 13 countries were also elected, including Lebanon, Mozambique and Norway.

UN Watch criticized the EU’s 27 member states, many of whom voted for China, Turkey, Burundi and Chad.

While the UN ballot was secret, the results show that only 9 of 189 UN states voting in the UN General Assembly declined to vote for China. “Consequently, at least 18 EU countries voted for Xi Jinping’s oppressive regime, which has a million Uighur Muslims locked up in camps.”

Likewise, only 15 countries declined to vote for Turkey, meaning at least 12 EU states voted for the Erdogan regime that has imprisoned opposition leaders and severely curtailed civil liberties. The EU even congratulated the Erdogan regime on its election.

A majority of at least 21 EU states voted for serial abusers Burundi and Chad.

ECOSOC is Key UN Organ Overseeing Human Rights Bodies

ECOSOC is the sole principal organ under the UN Charter mandated to adopt resolutions for the purpose of “promoting respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.”

The body accredits and oversees human rights groups at the UN, deciding which of them can participate at the UN Human Rights Council.

“This UN vote gives non-democracies malign influence at the world body. World leaders who failed to prevent it must now speak out for basic decency and morality in UN bodies,” said Neuer.

Importantly, ECOSOC decides which nations will sit on the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and the and the Executive Board of UN Women. As a result, it is more likely that misogynistic regimes like the Islamic Republic of Iran will be elected again to the UN’s top bodies for the empowerment of women and gender equality.

As ECOSOC member, China, Russia and Turkey will also be voting for who gets to sit on the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the UN Commission for Social Development.

The post China, Russia, Turkey Win Seats On UN Organ Overseeing Human Rights appeared first on UN Watch.

GENEVA, March 25, 2025 — In a joint statement, UN Watch intern Cole Hecker took the floor of the UN Human Rights Council to condemn North Korea for its atrocities against the Ukrainian people after joining Russia’s war of aggression.

During the address, the representative for North Korea interrupted the two-minute speech a staggering five times by invoking a procedural point of order, without any basis accusing UN Watch of speaking off-topic while failing to “observe the rules of procedure” of the Council.

After the North Korean delegate asked the Chair of the Council to “stop this intervention,” the representative from Belgium interrupted to lend support to UN Watch.

“I would request, Madam Vice President, you to allow NGO representative to finish what they have to say. Their participation in this Council is absolutely necessary,” the Belgian delegate said.

Not withstanding one more attempt by North Korea to shut down UN Watch’s address, the speech was then allowed to continue, concluding by calling for the launch of an inquiry into North Korea’s “war crimes in Ukraine.”

UN Human Rights Council Debate, March 25

UN Watch Joint Statement: Madam Vice President, we are alarmed by the grave human rights violations in North Korea, which not only target people domestically, but also now across borders— [Interrupted]

Vice-President: Point of order being requested. I give the floor then to DPRK.

North Korea: Thank you, Madam Vice-President, it is very regrettable to cast a second point of order in this session. I once again reiterate that the speaker is not adhering to the rules of procedure for use of names not recognized in the in the United Nations system.

I urge the chair to ensure that the speaker strictly observe the rules of procedure and manner by respect and dignifying the sovereign state. I thank you.

Vice-President: Thank you all the speakers of the need to adhere to official UN terminology when referring to countries. With this in mind, I give the floor back to Ingénieurs du Monde.

UN Watch Joint Statement: Thank you. DPRK has sent thousands of troops to serve as cannon fodder for the war of aggression against Ukraine. There are now North Korea made KN-23— [Interrupted]

Vice-President: I have to interrupt you, have another point of order, so I give the floor to DPRK.

North Korea: I apologize for the third point of order. Right now the speaker is talking about a topic that has nothing to do with this UPR, so we kindly ask the Chair to ensure that the speaker still observe the rules of procedure and manner by respecting and dignifying the sovereign state. I thank you.

Vice-President: Thank you. I want to say that we are currently discussing Agenda Item 6 of the Universal Periodic Review, and I would like to remind everyone that intervention should focus specifically on UPR outcome. I thank you once again, and let me give back the floor to Ingénieurs du Monde.

UN Watch Joint Statement: Thank you. DPRK’s actions violate international law and fuel war crimes and atrocities against the Ukrainian people. We recall that under UN Security Council sanctions in place since 2006, countries are banned from hosting North Korean trainers—[Interrupted]

Vice-President: Got to interrupt you again, because there’s another request for another point of order. Please go ahead DPRK.

North Korea: Madam Vice President, the speaker has not followed the request of the Chair and continues to refuse. That’s why I once again ask the chair to ensure the speaker steadily comply with the rules of the procedure or stop the intervention. I thank you.

Vice-President: Thank you, I would like to ask the speaker, once again, to contextualize on Agenda Item Six of the Universal Periodic Review. That is the normal procedure here when we are dealing with UPR.

I would like to also reiterate what I have already stated earlier, all speakers are abided to refer to official UN terminology when referring to countries as well. So let me give once again the floor to Ingénieurs du Monde.

UN Watch Joint Statement: Madam Vice President, I’m speaking on the DPRK’s transnational crimes. We recall that under UN Security Council sanctions in place since 2006 countries are banned from hosting North Korean trainers, advisers, or other officials for the purpose—[Interrupted]

Vice-President: I interrupt once more, I got a point of order from the DPRK.

North Korea: Madam Vice President, the speaker has not followed the request of the Chair and continues to refuse. Once again, I ask the Chair to ensure that speakers strictly comply with the rules of the procedure or stop this intervention. I thank you.

Vice-President: Thank you, I would like to say to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea that I have clearly understood what he has stated earlier. So with that in mind, I will give back the floor for the last time to Ingénieurs du Monde to finish the statement under the understanding of what we have said earlier, related to language and related to focusing on what is at stake here at the UPR.

UN Watch Joint Statement: Madam Vice President, as several countries have recommended during the UPR, North Korea must immediately end its complicity in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. When North Korean troops fall on the battlefield in Ukraine, do they even know what they are dying for?— [Interrupted]

Vice-President: I’ll interrupt you again because we have a point of order, referring to the same theme as before. First I’ll give the floor to Belgium, who have also asked for a point of order, please go ahead.

Belgium: Madam Vice President, now since some recommendations were actually related to the points that the colleague from the NGO was raising, I would request, Madam Vice President, you to allow NGO representative to finish what they have to say.

Their participation in this Council is absolutely necessary, whether we like what they have to say or not. We have to listen to what they have to say. Their contribution is essential for an inclusive participation and for the work of this council. I thank you.

Vice-President: I give the floor to the DPRK.

North Korea: Thank you, Madam Vice President. The issue raised by the delegation is that it is not the issue of the UPR, it depends on the rules of procedure, that’s why I kindly ask the Chair for speakers to strictly observe the rules of procedure. I thank you.

Vice-President: Thank you. I would like to give back the floor to the speaker in order for him to conclude with the statement, you have the floor, Ingénieurs du Monde.

UN Watch Joint Statement: Esteemed delegates. This Council cannot remain silent as the DPRK’s brutality now extends beyond its borders.

We call on the Council to launch an inquiry into DPRK’s role in the commission of war crimes in Ukraine. This inquiry should also be mandated to report all member states that aid and abet this gross abuser of human rights. We thank you.

The post Outrageous: North Korea Interrupts Speaker Five Times During UN Watch Joint Statement appeared first on UN Watch.

UN Watch brought Ukrainian MP Lisa Yasko to the floor of the U.N. Human Rights Council to call out North Korean human rights violations being committed related to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

Full Transcript:

My name is Lisa Yasko a member of the Parliament of Ukraine and I ask you to condemn as much as you can North Korean human rights violations that they are committing in cooperation with Russian aggression against Ukraine.

When, in 2024, they openly joined Russian forces to commit crimes against humanity on Ukrainian land and in the war against Ukraine we were sure that the world reactions would be very strong but in fact, it was not.

Because there is no proper reaction North Korea is continuing to help Russia immensely. Do you know that most of the ammunition that Russia is actually receiving it is receiving from North Korea? Do you know that the ballistic missiles no one is giving so many ballistic missiles to Russia as North Korea.

For North Koreans, this cooperation with Russia is actually very progressive and they really like the idea that they are gaining militaristic experience in committing more and more war crimes and they are gaining technologies that will allow them to have more wars to start more wars in the future.

Please raise your voice. Make a proper statement to condemn North Korea.

The post Ukrainian MP Lisa Yasko Condemns North Korean Participation in Russia’s War on Ukraine at the UNHRC appeared first on UN Watch.

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UN Watch brought French Philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy to the floor of the U.N. Human Rights Council to discuss Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.

Full Remarks:

Mr. President, In a few days we will commemorate the third anniversary of this terrible war in Ukraine.

It is a war of invasion that violates the sovereignty of a state a blatant violation of one of your fundamental principles.

This war is based on the idea that Ukraine does not exist as a nation therefore, it is a war of annihilation with genocidal tendencies.

This is a war where innumerable crimes have been committed violating the Geneva Conventions which are also part of your legislative framework.

This is a war of imperialism colonialist a colonialist enterprise that goes against principles on which the United Nations was founded.

Furthermore, one can observe Kremlin ideologues with fascist accents that would make the founders of the United Nations turn in their graves.

For all these reasons I urge you to firmly condemn on the strongest terms the abomination of this war.

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