Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Head of the Delegation for the Relations with the UN in the European Parliament, sent the following protest to the Swiss ambassador to the EU today. Click here for original letter in PDF.
Sehr geehrter Botschafter,
Mit Bedauern erfuhr ich heute, dass die Schweiz Jean Ziegler als Menschenrechtsexperten für den Menschenrechtsrat der Vereinten Nationen nominiert hat.
Jean Ziegler hat durch seine Unterstützung von Diktatoren wie Mengistu Haile Mariam, Robert Mugabe, Fidel Castro und Moammar Khaddafi unrühmliche Bekanntheit erreicht und ist Mitbegründer des “Moammar Khaddafi Friedenspreises”. Dieser Preis wurde unter Anderem Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez und dem Anführer der Nation of Islam Louis Farrakhan verliehen. Jean Ziegler hat sich persönlich für den französischen Stalinisten Roger Garaudy stark gemacht, der in seinem Buch ” Myths of Modern Israel”, in dem der Holocaust geleugnet wird, und hat auch sonst die Vereinten Nationen stets als Plattform zur Förderung seiner unlauteren Ziele instrumentalisiert.
All dies wurde beispielsweise ausführlich in der NZZ vom 25. Juni 2006 dokumentiert (“Zieglers Libyen-Connection”).
Jean Ziegler erfüllt daher in keiner Weise die von Ihm verlangten Kriterien in den Bereichen Menschenrechte, Unabhängigkeit und Objektivität, so dass ich innständig hoffe, dass Ihre Regierung seine Nominierung für den Menschrechtsrat zurückziehen wird.
Hochachtungsvoll,
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, MdEP
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Also, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, sent the following protest.
Ros-Lehtinen Urges Swiss Government to Withdraw Support for Jean Ziegler, Anti-Semitic Apologist for Dictators, as UN Human Rights Advisor
(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) today expressed “great concern” over the possible election of Swiss national Jean Ziegler as an advisor to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
In a letter to Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged the Swiss Government to rescind its support of Ziegler, whose anti-Semitic statements and links to vicious human rights violators make him an unsuitable candidate to advise the Council. Unless support is withdrawn from Switzerland, Mr. Ziegler is expected to be elected tomorrow.
Mr. Ziegler has drawn criticism for his unyielding support of many of the world’s most vicious dictators. He has expressed “total support for the Cuban revolution” and its leader, Fidel Castro, whose repressive regime has left hundreds of political dissidents to languish in jail. Ziegler has also observed that Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean dictator who bulldozes the houses of his political opponents, has “history and morality with him.”
Mr. Ziegler’s record at the UN has also earned him notoriety. As Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, he failed to address famine emergencies throughout the world, instead using his platform to consistently attack America and Israel. In July 2005, he characterized the Gaza Strip as an “immense concentration camp,” comparing Israelis to Nazis. Then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the remark.
“Mr Ziegler’s troubling record at the United Nations demonstrates that he in no way meets the standards of impartiality or moral rectitude to hold such a post,” Ros-Lehtinen stated.
In her letter, Ros-Lehtinen underscored: “Time is of the essence, not only in blocking Mr. Ziegler’s ascension, but also in restoring credibility to the United Nation’s human rights infrastructure. The implications of allowing someone of Mr. Ziegler’s character to assume a leading role at the Human Rights Council are dire. I urge you to withdraw support of Mr. Ziegler immediately and unconditionally.”
