A workshop took place at the United Nations office in Geneva today on the so-called “unilateral coercive measures.” In UN-lingo this means Cuba’s efforts to attack the US and its embargo, under the guise of human rights. So no wonder that today’s proceedings were marred by extreme anti-American and anti-Western statements.
Indeed the anti-American discourse started with Cuba accusing the US of “genocide,” among other things. “The US blockade is the main obstacle to the economic development of Cuba and the main violation of human rights.” Of course, there was no mention of the one-party dictatorship that has ruled the island for decades now with no respect for civil and political rights. The Cuban diplomats added that the embargo “is an act of genocide and causes suffering to the people.”
Russia was soon to follow. It said it is “convinced that instead of such ineffective approaches, that only show the weakness of the countries imposing them, dialogue and cooperation should prevail.” In a lesson intended for the West, Russia said that such measures are “anti-democratic by their very nature.”
Jean Ziegler would not be absent from such an anti-American fest. This UN “human rights expert,” founder and recipient of the “Moammar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize,” is known for his close ties with the Castro regime. So it did not come as a surprise to anyone that he presented a study on “mechanisms to assess the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights and to promote accountability.”
For this report, the UN had sent questionnaires to all UN member-states. The best responder? The Islamic Republic of Iran. According to Ziegler, “Iran has given extraordinary detail and clear figures. We are very grateful to Iran’s UN Mission for their reply.”
