https://www.facebook.com/unwatch/videos/10154767682641561/?hc_ref=ARRwNyB58opxjIvBEv1Mm7CD8TcQTvCqxIJipK6veS7JrCASLtheNANGmWo862Ubo4c
Even within the rogues’ gallery that is the U.N. human rights Council, today’s council panel attacking Western democracies for imposing sanctions on dictatorships was the mother of all rogues’ galleries.
Click here for UN Watch’s speech challenging the panel:
The panelists:
1. Lead panelist was UN expert Idriss Jazairy, who described Putin’s Russia as a human rights victim. Coincidentally, as UN Watch revealed today, Jazairy received $50,000 from the Russian government. As Algerian ambassador to UN, he once said “antisemitism targets Arabs”; and, most famously, he led a major effort to muzzle UN human rights experts. And then he became a UN human rights expert himself.
2. Alena Douhan, a Belarus academic with a soft spot for Russia, whose doctorate was on the principle of “non-interference” in countries’ “internal affairs.”
3. Alfred de Zayas, the Cuban-appointed expert for a “democratic and equitable international order.” Zayas has defended Iran’s right to nuclear weapons, and writes books claiming Germany suffered a “genocide” in 1945. Zayas is a hero to Holocaust deniers.
4. Jean Ziegler, co-founder & 2002 recipient of the Qaddafi Human Rights Prize. In his presentation, Ziegler actually defended the murderous Maduro regime of Venezuela, which he said was being victimized by a U.S. “economic war.”
5. Panel Chair: the ambassador of Venezuela’s Maduro regime, Jorge Romero. He effusively thanked Ziegler for his kind words.
6. Peggy Hicks, a top official in the office of UN high commissioner Zeid, delivered the opening statement. A former Human Rights Watch official, we hoped she would provide a dissenting voice. Instead, she echoed the same line. And when Ziegler spouted pro-Maduro propaganda, Hicks was silent.
The entire topic is a thinly veiled mechanism to attack the West and portray gross abusers like Sudan as victims. Those pretending to oppose coercive economic measures are silent about the many Arab countries who exercise a boycott against not only Israel, but also a secondary or tertiary boycott against those who do business with Israel.
The whole discussion on “unilateral coercive measures” is so transparently selective and politicized as to be a complete fraud. Similarly, the composition of the panel was a disgrace.
The fact that a former top official of Human Rights Watch would deliver remarks legitimizing this fraud, and taking it seriously, without a word of dissent — without a word of objection when panelist Ziegler defended a dictatorship — is shameful.
1. Even within the rogues' gallery that is the U.N. human rights Council, this panel speaking now is the mother of all rogues' galleries. pic.twitter.com/KvUejQ63oL
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 14, 2017
2. Jean Ziegler, panelist who just addressed @UN_HRC—defending Maduro regime—is co-founder & 2002 laureate of the Qaddafi Rights Prize. pic.twitter.com/KstAztFAlu
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 14, 2017
3. After UNHRC panelist Jean Ziegler defended Maduro regime, he was thanked by the panel chair: yes, #Venezuela's ambassador, Jorge Valero. pic.twitter.com/qfrw3MWDN8
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 14, 2017
4. Another panelist today was @UN_HRC expert Alfred de Zayas, a defender of Iran's right to nuclear weapons—and a hero to Holocaust deniers. pic.twitter.com/WraozLhQUz
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 14, 2017
5. Lead panelist was UN expert Idriss Jazairy—who defends Putin's Russia. As Algeria ambassador to UN, he said "antisemitism targets Arabs." pic.twitter.com/EalWGHllbG
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 14, 2017
6. Finally, OHCHR's @hickspeggy (ex-@HRW). I hoped she'd dissent—but she echoed same line. And when Ziegler praised Maduro—Peggy was silent. pic.twitter.com/NsQzuhEFEQ
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 14, 2017