Russia Voted Off UN Human Rights Council

Russia voted out of UN Human Rights Council

Press Trust of India – Oct. 29, 2016‎

Russia loses seat on UN Human Rights Council by just 2 votes

CNN International – ‎Oct 28, 2016‎

UN Watch, a UN watchdog group, said after the vote that “the non-election of Russia shows that the nations of the world can reject gross abusers if they so choose.” UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer said the re-election of Saudi Arabia, China and Cuba “casts a shadow upon the reputation of the United Nations.”

Russia ousted from U.N. Human Rights Council amid allegations of Syrian war crimes

UPI.com – ‎Oct. 29, 2016

“The non-election of Russia shows that the nations of the world can reject gross abusers if they so choose,” U.N. watchdog group, UN Watch, said after the vote. Despite Russia losing its seat, human rights activists were troubled by the re-election of Saudi Arabia, China and Cuba. UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer said it “casts a shadow upon the reputation of the United Nations.”

US calls for end to anti-Israel bias as it regains UN Human Rights Council seat

Jerusalem Post Israel News – ‎Oct. 29, 2016

“The re-election of China, Cuba and Saudi Arabia – regimes which systematically violate the human rights of their citizens – casts a shadow upon the reputation of the United Nations,” said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer. A Saudi Arabia-led …

Russia loses election to UN rights council

Inquirer.net – ‎18 hours ago‎

This makes the election of Saudi Arabia, China and Cuba even more preposterous,” said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.

Russian Envoy Cries Foul, Vows To Regain UN Rights Council Seat

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty – ‎Oct. 28, 2016

“The non-election of Russia shows that the nations of the world can reject gross abusers if they so choose. This makes the election of Saudi Arabia, China, and Cuba even more preposterous,” said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.

Egypt secures membership in UN human rights council

Al-Bawaba – ‎11 hours ago‎

Reuters quoted U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer as saying that “the re-election of China, Cuba and Saudi Arabia – regimes which systematically violate the human rights of their citizens – casts a shadow upon the reputation of the United Nations.

Camouflet pour Moscou au Conseil des droits de l’homme de l’ONU

LE MONDE | 29.10.2016 à 10h24

Hillel Neuer, le directeur d’UN Watch, a dénoncé une aberration : « Choisir l’Arabie saoudite comme arbitre des droits de l’homme, c’est comme nommer un pyromane chef des pompiers. »

ONU rejeita candidatura da Rússia ao Conselho de Direitos Humanos

Correio Braziliense | October 29, 2016

“A eleição da Arábia Saudita como juiz internacional sobre direitos humanos é como uma cidade nomear um incendiário para chefe dos bombeiros”, declarou o diretor-executivo da UN Watch, Hillel Neuer.

Mirror.co.uk | October 28, 2016
“The re-election of China, Cuba and Saudi Arabia – regimes which systematically violate the human rights of their citizens – casts a shadow upon the reputation of the United Nations,” said U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.”

Rusia se cae del Consejo de DDHH de la ONU entre críticas a su papel en Siria

Radio Caracol | October 28, 2016
“La no elección de Rusia muestra que los países del mundo pueden rechazar a quienes cometen graves abusos si lo desean”, destacó hoy tras el voto el director ejecutivo de la ONG con sede en Ginebra UN Watch, Hillel Neuer.
 
 

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• Egypt will promote the constructive role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society at large in the “promotion of human rights at all levels”
• Egypt has played a “key role” in the advancement of “human rights and fundamental freedoms”
• Continue to support initiatives and processes to advance the “empowerment of women” and “equality between men and women”
• Egypt as contributed to the “enhancement of the system” of international protection for “migrants, refugees and asylum seekers”

The post UN: Don’t Elect Egypt to the Human Rights Council appeared first on UN Watch.

1. Ahead of tomorrow’s farce—@UN elections to its Human Rights Council—I will now tweet out from #Iraq‘s brochure. https://t.co/DpwA1xjBXz pic.twitter.com/E4r7q5vqrZ

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) October 27, 2016

2. Iraq’s absurd @UN_HRC election campaign brochure actually invokes their #Yazidi minority—even though they’ve been subjected to genocide. pic.twitter.com/5mSIkfWkbr

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) October 27, 2016

3. Iraq’s absurd @UN_HRC election campaign brochure also cites the happy condition of their #Christian minority—who have been decimated. pic.twitter.com/9ADYOz0SwT

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) October 27, 2016

4. Finally Iraq’s UNHRC election brochure says “#Jews have lived in Iraq for thousands of years”; right—but were all chased out decades ago. pic.twitter.com/zh2yz6i7LR

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) October 27, 2016

The post UN: Don't Elect Iraq to Human Rights Council appeared first on UN Watch.

Rosa Maria Paya – Daughter of Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, the victim of assassination by Cuban regime

• “Because of the dictatorship, the whole population has been forced into poverty and live without the most basic human rights.”
• “The regime’s intelligence apparatus and the powerful propaganda machine has contributed to the erosion of democracy in the region, especially in countries like Venezuela. “
• “The mission of Cuba at the Human Rights Council is to behave as the heckler, vetoing all the voices of freedom, vetoing all the expressions that are trying to get democratic changes”

Watch: Rosa Maria Paya’s Speech at Ottawa Press Conference

Marcus Kolga – Award-winning documentary filmmaker and activist for human rights in Russia

• “In the year since Vladimir Putin took office, countless political activists, whistleblowers and human rights activists have been detained, murdered or have died under mysterious circumstances. The total today is unknown.”
• “Civil society has been targeted with crypto-Soviet laws that allow the government to shut them down if they are deemed to be ‘foreign agents.’”
• “We must hold the Putin regime accountable by rejecting its participation on the UNHRC “

Watch: Marcus Kolga’s Speech at Ottawa Press Conference

Yang Jianli – Tiananmen Square activist and former Chinese political prisoner

• “By any sensible standard, voting to put China on the Human Rights Council would be like picking the fox to guard the hen house while he is still wiping the feathers off of his mouth from his last meal.”

Watch: Yang Jianli’s Speech at Ottawa Press Conference

The post 2016 UNHRC Election: Ready-to-Use Quotes by Dissidents and Activists appeared first on UN Watch.

• Saudi Arabia’s absurd UNHRC campaign election platform
• China’s absurd UNHRC campaign election platform
• Cuba’s absurd UNHRC campaign election platform
• Russia’s absurd UNHRC campaign election platform
• Egypt’s absurd UNHRC campaign election platform
• Iraq’s absurd UNHRC campaign election platform

Quotes by Dissidents & Activists
Click here for quotable comments on the election by leading human rights dissidents and activists.
Petitions Online

• Expel Saudi Arabia from the UN Human Rights Council
• No to Vladimir Putin on the UN Human Rights Council

Advocacy Videos

• #StopSaudi: Vote NO to Saudi Arabia on the UN Human Rights Council
• #StopRussia: Right vs. Wrong at the UN

Victim Testimonies & Press Conferences
Click here for a series of YouTube videos featuring victim testimonies, and NGO press conferences, opposing the election of abusers to the UNHRC for 2017-2019.
Op-Eds
Click here for the Washington Post op-ed by Yang Jianli, Chinese dissident and UN Watch board member, opposing the re-election of China.
Latest Blog Posts

• UK’s glossy Arabic brochure for UNHRC campaign suggests ‘squalid vote deals’

Click here to see more of UN Watch’s latest blog posts on all aspects of the 2016 UNHRC elections.
Photos
Click here for hi-res images from UN Watch events held with Human Rights Foundation and others.
Media Interviews & News Reports

• IPS – “Reject Abusers from UN Human Rights Council: Advocacy Groups”
• CNS News – UN Members Unlikely to Reject Russia in This Week’s Human Rights Council Election
• Globe & Mail – Canada should refuse to vote human-rights abusers to UN council, MP alliance says 
• National Post – ‘Shining a light on the hypocrisy’: Canada urged to vote against human rights abusers
  (also featured in Ottawa Citizen and Montreal Gazette) 
• CTV – Vote against including China in UN Human Rights Council, MPs urge
• ipolitics.ca – Stop letting human rights abusers sit on UN human rights council: MPs
• Epoch Times – Rights Advocates Call for Change at UN Human Rights Council—China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Cuba up for re-election

Above: UN Watch and HRF press conference in the Canadian Parliament, Oct. 5th, 2016, with victims, activists and MPs.
Below: UN press conference on Oct. 6th with victims and activists.

The post UNHRC: The Campaign to Stop Election of Abusers for 2017-2019 appeared first on UN Watch.

• China attaches “great importance” to “promoting and protecting” human rights.
• China has worked actively to “guarantee people’s rights to be informed”, to participate in public affairs, to “express their views” and to “supervise government work.”
• Freedom of religious belief is “fully guaranteed.”
• The “right of ethnic minorities to equal participation” in the management of State and society is guaranteed.
• The Chinese people enjoy more “extensive democratic rights and freedoms” in accordance with the law, and “legal guarantees for human rights”

Full text: China’s Absurd Campaign Pledge

Watch: Former Political Prisoner Yang Jianli Opposes China Election to UNHRC:

The post UN: Don't Elect China to Human Rights Council appeared first on UN Watch.

• Cuba attaches the “greatest importance” to international cooperation for the “promotion and protection” of all human rights within the United Nations
• Cuba reaffirms its readiness to “continue working tirelessly” to achieve the shared goal of “enabling all individuals and peoples” throughout the world to “enjoy all human rights”
• Cuban women and men have made “significant progress” in the “enjoyment of all their human rights.”
• The Cuban people are the “masters of their political fate” and the country’s resources, exercise the “fullest power and control over the country’s life”, and “participate actively” in the “effective system of democracy” that they designed and approved in a universal plebiscite.

The campaign pledge also includes this line:

• “In October 2007, [Cuba] received the Special Rapporteur on the right to food.”

This was a sham visit by UNHRC official Jean Ziegler, founder of the “Mummar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize,” and a notorious apologist for the Castro regime.

Full Text: Cuba’s Absurd Campaign Pledge

Cuban Human Rights Activist Maria Werlau speaks on Cuba’s candidacy at at UN press conference:

Full Text of Maria Werlau’s Statement

The post UN: Don’t Elect Cuba to Human Rights Council appeared first on UN Watch.

Here is just one of many absurd claims found in Saudi Arabia’s official campaign pledge:

No joke: Saudi Arabia is running for the UN Human Rights Council—and their campaign brochure cites the Saudi record on. . . women’s rights. pic.twitter.com/2xqO62V1GS

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 22, 2016

 

More:
Read recent UN testimony of Ensaf Haidar, wife of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi
 

 

The post Petition: Stop Saudi Arabia from Re-election to the UN Human Rights Council appeared first on UN Watch.

]]> Petition: Stop Saudi Arabia from Re-election to the UN Human Rights Council - UN Watch Saudi Arabia is running for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council on Oct. 28, 2016 Sign the petition: Click here to petition the UNHRC and US Amb. 2016 UNHRC Election Presentation of Credentials by Saudi Arabia in Geneva Presentation of credentials: H.E. Mr. Faisal bin Hassan Trad, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(left), presents his credentials to Mr. Michael Møller(right), the Acting Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva. January 7th, 2014. Photo by Pierre Albouy https://unwatch.org/uks-glossy-arabic-brochure-unhrc-campaign-suggests-squalid-vote-deals/ Wed, 26 Oct 2016 22:51:39 +0000 https://unwatch.jaredco.com/?p=14547 Cover of UK’s glossy Arabic brochure sent by London to Arab dictatorships ahead of Friday’s election, to win their votes—possibly in deals whereby the UK will vote for them. Translation: “UN Human Rights Council | UNITED KINGDOM | 2017 – 2019 candidate | For freedoms and universal rights” Is this glossy Arabic brochure produced by London’s Foreign Office another indication that the UK is—once again—making […]

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Cover of UK’s glossy Arabic brochure sent by London to Arab dictatorships ahead of Friday’s election,
to win their votes—possibly in deals whereby the UK will vote for them. Translation: “UN Human Rights
Council | UNITED KINGDOM | 2017 – 2019 candidate | For freedoms and universal rights”

Is this glossy Arabic brochure produced by London’s Foreign Office another indication that the UK is—once again—making a Faustian bargain with the medieval and misogynistic Saudi monarchy to vote each other onto the UN’s highest human rights body, in elections to be held in New York this Friday?

UN Watch has been leading the campaign this year with a coalition of NGOs to oppose the re-election of Saudi Arabia, Russia, China and Cuba, as well as the new election bids of Egypt, Iraq, Malaysia and Rwanda, by lobbying governments, and through online petitions, high profile parliamentary events, UN press conferences, university lectures, YouTube videos, and op-eds in the Washington Post and other major newspapers.
in a joint investigation with The Australian, revealed last year that the mother of constitutionalism entered negotiations in 2013 with one of the world’s worst human rights violators to exchange votes for UN Human Rights Council seats. Both countries are running again, for re-election to 2017-2019 terms.

Given Prime Minister Theresa May’s refusal today to disavow a repeat pact with the theocratic Saudis, there is good reason to suspect the brochure is part of a larger arc of squalid deals with regimes that trample women’s rights and religious freedom.
The vote-trading for UN Human Rights Council seats is so cynical that the Saudis even made deals with enemies like Russia, whose media savage the Saudis at every opportunity. Amusingly, Russian-controlled media like Sputnik have pounced on Saudi Arabia’s absurd membership on the UNHRC — even as their Kremlin paymaster helped elect Riyadh.

In response to a recent question in the House of Lords by Baroness Deech, the British Foreign Office, while refusing to confirm the vote trades, protested that even if they did vote for the oppressive regime in 2013, “Saudi Arabia did not need our support in the last election to the Human Rights Council since they were uncontested.”

This is false and misleading.

First, Saudi Arabia’s bid was not always uncontested; competitor countries in their regional group dropped out of the race — quite possibly after seeing how many pledges the Saudis had accumulated, or bought.

Second, even uncontested candidates must get a majority of 97 UNGA votes. In 2013, the Saudis received 140 votes. If the UK and another 43 countries had declined to support the desert despotism, it would not have been elected.

Third, and most importantly, the issue is not merely a matter of whether the UK’s possible Yes vote clinched the Saudi win or not.
Rather, it reveals the UN’s utter failure when it comes to human rights — and a questionable commitment in the Foreign Office to the effectiveness of the UNHRC — that the UK would think it anything other than obscene to vote to elect to the world’s highest human rights body one of the world’s most egregious violators of every universal human right.

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]]> UK's glossy Arabic brochure for UNHRC campaign suggests 'squalid vote deals' - UN Watch Cover of UK's glossy Arabic brochure sent by London to Arab dictatorships ahead of Friday's election, to win their votes—possibly in deals whereby the UK 2016 UNHRC Election screen-shot-2016-10-27-at-1-18-39-am YouTube player https://unwatch.org/stoprussia/ Thu, 20 Oct 2016 15:51:30 +0000 https://unwatch.jaredco.com/?p=14478 Russia is running for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council Sign the petition: Click here to urge your government to say NO. Russia’s official UN campaign pledge includes the following absurd claims: Russia is “firmly attached” to “such fundamental values” as “freedom, justice, life, well-being and human dignity,” as well as “family traditions,” […]

The post UN: Don’t Elect Russia to Human Rights Council – A Petition to Stop Putin appeared first on UN Watch.

]]> Russia is running for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council
Sign the petition: Click here to urge your government to say NO.

Russia’s official UN campaign pledge includes the following absurd claims:

• Russia is “firmly attached” to “such fundamental values” as “freedom, justice, life,
  well-being and human dignity,” as well as “family traditions,” “political equality,” “integrity of the
  court system,” and  “the eradication of…corruption”
• Russia is also “firmly committed” to its international obligations in the field of human rights”
• Russia pursues a policy of strengthening “democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”
• Russia worked hard during its previous three terms on the Council to make it “an efficient and effective tool for promoting and protecting human rights throughout the world”
• Russia will ensure the Council upholds “the fundamental principles of universality, non-selectivity, objectivity, equal treatment of all
  categories of human rights, and respect for diversity of cultures and civilizations”

Full text: Russia’s Absurd Campaign Pledge

The post UN: Don’t Elect Russia to Human Rights Council – A Petition to Stop Putin appeared first on UN Watch.

]]> UN: Don't Elect Russia to Human Rights Council - A Petition to Stop Putin - UN Watch Russia is running for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council Sign the petition: Click here to urge your government to say NO. Russia's official UN 2016 UNHRC Election YouTube player vladimir-putin