Above: Orhan Kemal Cengiz, second from left, at the UN for the opening session of the
8th Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Feb. 22, 2016. In this photo, UN Watch
imagined what the world would be like if human rights heroes represented their countries.

GENEVA, July 25, 2016 — UN Watch, a Geneva based non-governmental human rights group, welcomed Turkey’s release yesterday of human rights advocate and journalist Orhan Kemal Cengiz after four days of arbitrary detention, but urged UN chief Ban Ki-moon and human rights commissioner Zeid to condemn the government of President Recep Teyyip Erodgan for imposing conditions on Mr. Cengiz that include a travel ban.

Cengiz and his wife Sibel Hurtas, also a journalist, were detained Thursday at Istanbul airport while en route to attend a conference in London. Hurtas was released the same day, but Cengiz was detained until yesterday.
Mr. Cengiz had visited the UN Human Rights Council in February, and testified about abuses in Turkey, hosted by the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, a coalition of 25 human rights groups led by UN Watch.
UN Watch campaigned over the past four days for Mr. Cengiz’s release. “By arresting a prominent journalist, lawyer and human rights defender, the Turkish government has seriously compromised its claim to be defending democracy and the rule of law,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.
“We urge Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner Zeid to condemn the illegal ban on Mr. Cengiz’s travel, which among other things would prevent him from visiting the United Nations to provide the world body with vital new information and analysis on the desperate situation of human rights in Turkey.”
 

Purged by #Turkey:
1,577 university deans
2,745 judges
21,000 teachers
Response by @UN_HRC:
Urgent Sessions: 0
Resolutions: 0
Inquiries: 0

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) July 19, 2016

About Orhan Kemal Cengiz

• Human Rights Defender, Lawyer, Journalist
• Born January 13, 1968
• Founding member of the Human Rights Agenda Association (Insan Haklari Gundemi Dernegi), established in 2003, which he chaired until 2012.
• Cengiz also founded the Civil Society Development Center and new sections within the Izmir Bar Association, including a section dealing with torture and ill-treatment. Between 1999 and 2002 he worked as a legal adviser at the Kurdish Human Rights Project in London.
• In 2007, he received death threats due to his professional activity in the Malatya murder case, in which three Christians were killed by men linked to ultra-nationalist organizations.
• In 2008, thanks to an Amnesty International campaign, the state provided him with a bodyguard. Mr. Cengiz is now an independent human rights lawyer and expert.
• Cengiz has been a prolific journalist since the Turkish government’s crackdown on the media, contributing to several newspapers, including Today’s Zaman, Radikal, Al-Monitor, Ozgur Dusunce, and Bugun. He wrote extensively on human rights related topics, from the Kurdish issue to the Armenian Genocide to the Deep State (Ergenekon) case.
• Currently he is one of the lawyers in the “Tahir Elci” case, named for the Kurdish human rights lawyer and president of the Diyarbakir Bar Association who was killed in November 2015.
• In February 2016, Mr. Cengiz was a speaker at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, devoting his entire speech to the memory of his beloved friend Tahir Elci.
• He was arrested on July 21, 2016, at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport while waiting to board a flight to London, where he was supposed to participate in a conference promoted by the Tahir Elci Foundation. Mr. Cengiz was with his wife, the journalist Sibel Semira Hurtas. She was released after a few hours.
• Mr. Cengiz was finally released on July 24.

Below: Orhan Kemal Cengiz addressing the adjacent Geneva Summit for Human Rights, February 23, 2016.

The post Issue 601: Turkey releases Orhan Kemal Cengiz, but with travel ban; "UN must speak out" appeared first on UN Watch.

UN Watch is Hiring

Morris B. Abram Graduate Fellowship Applications: Due by July 31st 
Reminder: Recent college graduates with degrees in international relations or related fields have until July 31st to apply for a prestigious one-year paid fellowship with UN Watch in Geneva. The total value of the stipend is $47,000. Candidates must have superb writing skills in English. Fellows draft reports, speeches, op-eds, and press releases, monitor and report on meetings at the UN, perform research, and manage social media. Previous UN Watch Fellows have gone on to distinguished careers in law, government, diplomacy, human rights and journalism. More
Seeking North American Director Based in New York
UN Watch is seeking to recruit an ambitious, creative, experienced, dynamic, and highly-organized North American Director who will conceive and implement programming, advocacy and fundraising activities for UN Watch in the U.S. and Canada. The North American Director will be based in a new UN Watch office to be established in New York, which will be the focus of activity. The North American Director will successfully grow fundraising initiatives in support of our multi-year strategic vision for growth and expansion. More

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In the News

Human rights groups call for Saudi Arabia to be booted from U.N. council, June 29
Hillel Neuer, head of a human rights group called UN Watch, said there is little likelihood Saudi Arabia will lose its seat. “At this time, there’s zero chance,” said Neuer, who has frequently criticized Saudi Arabia’s actions on the council and argued that human rights violators should be barred from serving on the council. “We’ve seen the power play Saudi Arabia’s demonstrated.”

 

UN Human Rights Bodies Silent on Turkey’s Massive Crackdown, July 19
“Never before in modern history has a democracy ordered the arbitrary removal of thousands of judges, only to be met with complete radio silence from the entire U.N. human rights system,” said U.N. Watch executive director Hillel Neuer. “The Turkish government’s massive purge and ongoing round-up of thousands of judges, prosecutors, police officials, military officers and soldiers, gives every indication that these lists were prepared in advance, just waiting to be used at the opportune moment,” said Neuer.

The post Issue 600: UN Watch is hiring; Turkey purges thousands appeared first on UN Watch.

      

President: Point of order has been asked.
Cuba: Thank you, Mr. President. President, we’re taking the floor to raise a point of order here. At no time have we been able to understand clearly what has been said by the representative of this alleged NGO. At no time, given the Human Rights Council mandate, a representative of an NGO cannot question the membership of a state that belongs to this council. They cannot do that. So I would ask you, Sir, to to call to order the representative of this supposed NGO. I know he’s going to carry on talking in this council, that’s not a problem for us, but I ask you to call him to order. But he should not refer to this — namely, whether a country may be a member of this council. You may have a diverging opinion, but you don’t have a mandate here to refer to that. Thank you.
President: U.S. has the floor.
USA: We would like to highlight that the United States firmly believes that accredited NGOs should be permitted to speak in the Council, though member states including the United States may occasionally disagree with the content of their statements—and an NGO just criticized us about four speakers ago—it is essential that civil society voices be heard here in an atmosphere of open expression. We believe the content of this NGO was relevant to the issue under debate, and as a result the Council should allow it to continue to finish their statement. Thank you, Mr. President.
President: I give floor to the distinguished representative of Venezuela.
Venezuela: We would also like to support the point of order raised by Cuba. I think it’s a very pertinent one. I think the representative of the political organization needs to be called to order. So-called “NGO”… And as the Cuban delegate said, no NGO can, if you like, point fingers at the membership of the states who represent the Council. So again, we need to restate clearly our support to Cuba on this.
President: I give the floor to the distinguished representative of China.
China: Mr. President, the Chinese delegation supports the response made by Cuba and Venezuela. We believe also that NGO representatives have no right to challenge the membership of states in the Council. Thank you.
President: Distinguished representative of the Russian Federation.
Russia: Thank you, President. We agree with the arguments expressed by Cuba and Venezuela and China, and we would also ask you to call upon the distinguished NGO—which not for the first time has been highlighted and corrected in this—to correct their statement.
President: I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the Netherlands.
Netherlands: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Netherlands feels that sometimes we may disagree with what NGOs say in their statements, but we find it important that accredited NGOs participate in the consultations of this council. And as our minister said in the high level segment, the members of the Council especially are held to a high standard, and that is also what the council has laid down in its founding documents. Thank you very much.
President: I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Pakistan.
Pakistan: My delegation would like to support the point of order made by Cuba. While NGOs should have the right to express their views, they should not be allowed to question the membership of the Human Rights Council.
President: I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of United Kingdom.
United Kingdom: We would like to reiterate the comment that has already been made by the U.S. and the Netherlands that while we may not agree with all comments made, we support the right of accredited NGOs to make them. Thank you.
President: I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Canada.
Canada: It is essential to respect the Council’s emphasis on open dialogue. This is a question of freedom of speech. And civil society voices should be heard here in an atmosphere of respectful exchange. In this case we are of the opinion that what we have heard in the intervention so far, without endorsing the substance of the statement, is pertinent to the subject matter of the Council, Session 31, Item 3. Mr. President, we respectfully ask that you rule that the speaker be allowed to finish his presentation.
President: Any other request for the floor? I see none. I now give floor back to the representative of the NGO, and ask him to take into consideration the various comments made.
(3 seconds left on the clock.)
Hillel Neuer, UN Watch: They can censor at home, but they cannot censor at the United Nations. Thank you, Mr. President.
(Applause from NGO section)
President: Cuba, you have the floor.
Cuba: Mr. President, the expression we have just heard from this NGO is a total lack of respect for what you, you sir, have just asked for. It’s a lack of respect to this whole room, total lack of respect for the people sitting here, and the various opinions that have been expressed, and indeed a lack of respect for what you yourself said, President.
This NGO—or this supposed NGO, if we’re going to be frank—next time they take the floor, they cannot address Council in this fashion. Certainly my delegation will not—under any circumstances—let them speak. We won’t let that happen. We cannot do things along this… And it’s a lack of respect to you, sir.
President: Point of order?
Cuba: I was referring to this NGO, it’s a lack of respect, and you yourself asked this NGO one thing, and he didn’t respond to that.
President: You can ask for a point of order, if you have a point of order. But it seems like you are making comments. So next I give the floor to…..
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

The post Issue 582: Dictators Fail to Silence UN Watch: Venezuela, Cuba, China, Russia, Pakistan Object to Speech Challenging Membership appeared first on UN Watch.

On behalf of UN Watch, Yeonmi Park, 21-year-old North Korean survivor and human rights activist, addressed the UNHRC. Above: Ms. Park presented a copy of her forthcoming memoir In Order to Live (Penguin) to Australia’s Justice Michael Kirby, former head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on North Korean human rights abuses, and chair of the UNHRC panel debate. Geneva, September 21, 2015. (Photo: UN Watch.)

Speaking today in Geneva on behalf of the non-governmental human rights group UN Watch, North Korean survivor and human rights activist Yeonmi Park addressed a United Nations Human Rights Council debate on the country from which she escaped, one week before the publication of her memoir, In Order to Live (Penguin).

Ms. Park’s inspirational words during the UN panel discussion contrasted sharply with the harsh rhetoric from her former oppressor, the North Korean government.

North Korea, according to a UN summary, said the panel discussion “followed ill-minded political objectives” and belonged to a “conspiracy of the hostile forces led by the United States pursuing a plot against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” The regime said the panel was “slander,” marked by “politicization and double standards,” and “confrontational.”

Cuba said the panel violated the North Korean people’s “right to peace” and “right to development.”

UN Watch then gave the floor to Yeonmi Park:

UN WATCH STATEMENT TO UNHRC PANEL, DELIVERED BY YEONMI PARK

“Thank you Mr. President. My name is Yeonmi Park. I’m 21 years old. I was born in 1993 in North Korea, an unimaginable place, with so much suffering and no freedom.

As a free person here today, it means a lot to me to deliver this statement on behalf of UN Watch.
Eight years ago I escaped from my homeland by scrambling across the frozen river that divides North Korea and China. I knew that if I stayed behind I would die – from starvation, from disease, from a labor camp. My hunger was unbearable, and I hoped to find food and work in China.
Instead the first thing I saw in China was my mother raped by a Chinese broker. I myself was sold for $260 at the age of 13 as a child bride to a human trafficker, and my mother was sold for $65.
I spent two terrible years hiding from Chinese police who would have sent me back to North Korea.
Finally, I made another dangerous escape across the Gobi Desert into Mongolia. It was a freezing cold, black night, and we couldn’t use our compass. So we followed the stars north, walking and crawling to freedom.
North Korea attempts to cast doubt on any criticism of its evil acts. They have released propaganda videos calling me a “human rights propaganda puppet.” But I am here to tell you I am speaking from my heart. And my heart breaks for my relatives still in North Korea, who are unjustly suffering because I speak out against the regime.
No dictatorship gives up power without a demand. We must demand that North Korea stop starving and oppressing its own people and respect their human rights.
I heard this: “Never say there is no hope.” It’s the song of the Jewish Resistance fighters who fought against the most inhuman tragedy. And I have hope. I believe some day North Korean people will be free like all of us here today.
Thank you so much for listening and bringing hope to my people. I believe that together, we can change North Korean lives.”

UN Watch is one of the leading human rights groups at the UN regarding North Korea, working closely with North Korean dissidents.

_____________

Giving Victims a Voice: UN Watch arranged the following interview in a leading French-language Geneva newspaper.

Yeonmi Park, survivante de la Corée du Nord, a fui à 13 ans

Yeonmi Park semble fragile. Mais derrière cette petite silhouette frêle se cache une lutteuse. Cette jeune Nord-Coréenne de 21 ans est une miraculée. Il y a huit ans, un soir d’hiver, glacial et sans lumière, elle a réussi l’impossible: s’échapper de la prison à ciel ouvert bâtie par la dynastie Kim Jong. Plus d’infos »

The post 21-year-old North Korean Survivor Addresses UN Debate appeared first on UN Watch.

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GENEVA, Feb. 24, 2015 – The Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch today led a coalition of 20 NGOs in giving a rare UN platform to the Nigerian girl who jumped off a truck to escape from Boko Haram, the student leaders of the Hong Kong umbrella protest, and courageous dissidents and victims from China, Cuba, Iran, Tibet, Pakistan, Turkey, North Korea and Venezuela.

The 2015 Geneva Summit for Human Rights, which opened yesterday in a packed UN chamber below the Human Rights Council, concluded today in an adjacent conference center before an audience of 500 human rights activists, diplomats, journalists and students.

The summit aims to place critical human rights situations on the world agenda days before foreign ministers gather on Monday in Geneva to open the annual session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Worldwide media coverage focused on the Nigerian girl who escaped the Boko Haram kidnapping (“Bring Back Our Girls”); a memorial to the murdered Charlie Hebdo journalists by two of their Paris colleagues, Philippe Val and Caroline Fourest; and the bestowal of awards to jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, and to Masih Alinejad, creator of a viral Facebook page that allows Iranian women to show hijab-free photos of themselves.

Notable speakers also included:
· Alex Chow & Lester Shum, Student leaders of Hong Kong protest movement
· Pierre Torres, French Journalist held hostage by ISIS for 10 months
· Yeon-Mi Park, 21-year-old North Korean defector
· Il Lim, North Korean defector and former slave laborer
· Ashiq Masih, Husband of Asia Bibi, Christian mother of five on death row in Pakistan for blasphemy
· Dicki Chhoyang, Foreign Minister of Central Tibetan Administration
· Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader persecuted by Maduro regime (by video)
· Yang Jianli, Former Chinese political prisoner, survivor of Tiananmen Square massacre
Canada, the Czech Republic and the U.S. co-sponsored yesterday’s UN opening session. Some 15 governments also met privately with the dissidents and victims at a meeting hosted by the Canadian Mission in Geneva.

The post UN Watch's Geneva rights summit draws world attention, spotlights Boko Haram, ISIS, China, Cuba, France, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tibet, Turkey, Venezuela appeared first on UN Watch.

GENEVA, February 18 – A coalition of 20 human rights groups announced today that Saudi blogger and rights activist Raif Badawi — sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for “insulting Islam” by creating a website for Saudi liberals — has been selected as the 2015 recipient of the prestigious Geneva Summit Courage Award. Last year’s prize went to blind Chinese lawyer Chen Guangcheng.

“I am very happy to hear this,” said Ensaf Haidar, Badawi’s wife, now living in Canada, who will be accepting the award by video when it is presented next week in a ceremony before UN delegates, human rights activists and journalists, on Tuesday, February 24th, 2015, at the 7^thannual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy.

The NGO coalition is honoring Badawi “for inspiring the world with his extraordinary courage in the defense of liberty and universal human rights.”

“As co-hosts of the Geneva Summit, Liberal International is pleased to join forces with UN Watch and 18 other NGOs, to continue to fight for Raif Badawi’s liberation,” said Markus Loening, chair of Liberal International’s Human Rights Committee, and former human rights commissioner of the German government.  Read More

 ______________

On eve of UN rights session, dissidents to spotlight urgent human rights situations and call for action

GENEVA, Feb. 18 – World-famous human rights dissidents, activists, and victims will gather for the 7th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy next week on Tuesday, February 24, 2015. To register now, or watch live webcast, visit unwatch.org.
The event is organized by UN Watch as part of a global coalition of 20 human rights NGOs, and will take place days before the UN Human Rights Council opens its annual session.

The Geneva Summit aims to shine a spotlight on urgent human rights situations that require the Council’s attention.

Featured speakers include:

·  Alex Chow & Lester Shum, Student leaders of the Hong Kong protest movement
·  Saa, Nigerian schoolgirl who escaped from Boko Haram
·  Pierre Torres, French Journalist held hostage by ISIS for 10 months
· Yavuz Baydar, Turkish journalist
·  Maria Baronova, Russian human rights activist
· Tamara Suju, Venezuelan human rights lawyer
· Yeon-Mi Park, 21-year-old North Korean defector
·  Ashiq Masih, Husband of Asia Bibi, Christian mother of five on death row in Pakistan for blasphemy
·  Masih Alinejad, Freelance journalist who empowers women in Iran with her “My Stealthy Freedom” Facebook page
·  Dicki Chhoyang, a senior figure in the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan government-in-exile
·  Il Lim, North Korean defector and former slave laborer
·  Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader
·  Juan Francisco Sigler Amaya and Manuel Cuesta Morua, Dissidents in Havana
· Yang Jianli, Former Chinese political prisoner, survivor of Tiananmen Square massacre, president of Initiatives for China
·  Ladan Boroumand, Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation for Human Rights and Democracy in Iran, member of Steering Committee of World Movement for Democracy

Now in its seventh year, the Geneva Summit enjoys widespread coverage by major news agencies.

Videos of past speaker testimonies are available here. Admission to this year’s February 24, 2015 summit is free to the public and media, but registration is mandatory. For registration, program and schedule information, visit www.genevasummit.org.

The post 20 NGOs Led by UN Watch to Bestow 2015 Courage Award Upon Saudi Blogger at Tuesday's Geneva Rights Summit appeared first on UN Watch.

GENEVA,  Oct. 31, 2014 – Iranian victims and activists who attended today’s UN review of Iran in Geneva today reacted sharply to the presentation of chief Iranian delegate Mohammad Larijani, who blamed the West and its “media blitz” for Iran’s execution on Saturday of 26-year-old Reyhaneh Jabbari, and insisted she had a fair trial.

Iran was praised glowingly by many delegations, including from Syria, Yemen, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Belarus, Vietnam, and Palestine. Click here for quotes.

REACTIONS

> Click here for reactions on video of the Iranians listed below

> Selected quotes below

The post Iranian victims react to UN's review of Tehran's human rights record appeared first on UN Watch.

• Mauritania allows slavery. According to a recent report by the Guardian, “up to 800,000 people in a nation of 3.5 million remain chattels,” with power and wealth overwhelmingly concentrated among lighter-skinned Moors, “leaving slave-descended darker-skinned Moors and black Africans on the edges of society.
• Pakistan turns a blind eye to acid attacks against women, and continues to sentence Christians and minority Muslims to death for blasphemy, including its recent confirmation of Asia Bibi’s verdict.
• Uganda‘s president this year signed into law its ‘Anti-Homosexuality Act,’ one of the harshest in the world, imposing life imprisonment against gays in some cases.
• Zimbabwe continues to harass and intimidate human rights dissidents.

“When the criminals are made the judges, when the arsonists are named as fire-fighters, it’s a travesty of justice. These countries will now exercise power over human rights groups within the world body, and will try to silence their voices,” said Neuer.
“Tragically, the UN’s election today of regimes such as Mauritania — where there are hundreds of thousands living in slavery — sends a message that crass politics trumps basic human rights. The UN is letting down millions of victims around the globe who look to the world body for vital protection,” said Neuer.
ECOSOC’s Power Over UN Human Rights Bodies

• Under the UN Charter, ECOSOC is the sole principal organ mandated to adopt resolutions for the purpose of “promoting respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.”
• The elected regimes will now play a major role in choosing members of the Commission on the Status of Women, the executive of UN Women, and UNICEF, which protects children’s rights.
• ECOSOC is the body that accredits and oversees human rights groups at the UN, deciding who can participate at the UN Human Rights Council. The dominant influence of non-democracies has often led to the rejection or expulsion of human rights groups that dare to criticize China, Cuba or other repressive UN member states, and they have often barred gay rights NGOs.”
• Recent ECOSOC annual sessions debated resolutions on the treatment of prisoners, Internet freedom, discrimination, gender equality and female genital mutilation.
• ECOSOC decides which nations will sit on, among others, the UN Commission for Social Development, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

The post Rights abusers win coveted UN rights posts appeared first on UN Watch.

The UN Watch campaign, coordinated in partnership with Free the North Korean Gulag, received important media coverage. (See right.)

Open Letter to the President of the Swiss Confederation to Freeze Assets of North Korean Leadership in Switzerland

Excellency,

We have experienced and witnessed the gross, systematic and widespread violations of human rights committed by the North Korean regime against its own people, which has been ongoing for many decades.

Because of these atrocities, and for the reasons outlined below, we appeal to you to place an immediate freeze on the financial assets located in your country, Switzerland, held by the North Korean leadership, who are directly responsible for the crimes against their own people.

We make this request based on the following:

(a) Findings of UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea

As you know, the UN Commission of Inquiry on North Korea’s human rights record found “reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, pursuant to policies established at the highest level of the State for decades.”

These crimes entail “extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.”

The UN further found that North Korea “displays many attributes of a totalitarian State: the rule of a single party, led by a single person, is based on an elaborate guiding ideology.”

Consequently, the UN has found that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un bears primary responsibility for these human rights violations. The commission of inquiry reported multiple indications of central government accountability.

(b) Switzerland endorsed creation and findings of UN Commission

Switzerland has a moral responsibility to act on the findings of the commission of inquiry because it played a leading role in its establishment and endorsement. As a member of the Human Rights Council for 2013, Switzerland actively supported the resolution that created the commission of inquiry (A/HRC/RES/22/13) and, moreover, Switzerland was a sponsor of the Council resolution (A/HRC/RES/25/25) which formally adopted the commission’s report on 28 March 2014.

Please note that Resolution 25/25 called on the General Assembly to request the Security Council to consider action to hold to account those responsible for human rights violations and crimes against humanity. The UN resolution specifically calls for consideration of “effective targeted sanctions against those who appear to be most responsible for crimes against humanity.”

Switzerland has no legal or moral reason to wait before proceeding with these vital targeted sanctions. It is incumbent upon Switzerland to match its calls for action in the Human Rights Council by taking action in its own capacity, echoing the grave concerns that have been expressed and affirmed by multiple UN bodies.

(c) Swiss law and prior precedents support case for freezing North Korean assets

Switzerland has every basis in law and prior precedent to act for the people of North Korea. We recall that, acting on these laws, Switzerland in recent years has frozen the assets of several foreign leaders, including Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.

Switzerland did so in accordance with Swiss laws: the Embargos Act (2002), and the Act on the Restitution of Illicit Assets (RIAA/LRAI 2011). Moreover, in 2014, Switzerland adopted a new law on the issue, theFederal Act on the Freezing and Restitution of Illicitly Acquired Assets of Foreign Politically Exposed Persons, which only underscores the government’s commitment to address this important issue.

Conclusion

In conclusion, based on international law and Swiss domestic law, prior Swiss precedents, and the basic principles of morality and humanity, we respectfully urge Switzerland to immediately freeze all assets of the North Korean leadership, whether held in their names or those of their associates, that are located within its territory.

Sincerely,

Kang Cheol Hwan
Because his grandfather was falsely charged with treason against the nation, all his family members were sent to Camp 15, as guilt by association.

Shin Dong Hyuk
He was born in Camp 14 and witnessed his mother and brother’s public execution. While he was imprisoned in Camp 14, he was subjected to many types of torture.

Ahn Myeong Chul
Because his father committed suicide, his family was sent to a political prison camp, as guilt by association.

Jeong Kwang Il
He was falsely charged with espionage and taken to Camp 15. In Camp 15, he received horrible torture such as pigeon torture, beating, and starvation.

Kim Young Soon
She and all her family members were taken to Camp 15 just because she was a friend of Kim Jong Il’s wife.

Lim Jeong Soo
His father was a prisoner of war, so all his family members were taken to a political prison camp. His father died in a camp from extreme torture. His mother and two brothers died in a camp because of starvation. Also, agents seared his belly with a hot iron. He lived in a camp for 22 years.

Lee Keum Ran
She escaped from North Korea but was caught in China and repatriated to North Korea. After repatriation, she was detained in Camp 15 and witnessed horrible torture committed to other detainees such as forced abortion, beating and so on. She also received horrible torture.

Kim Eun Cheol
He was detained in Camp 15 just because he escaped from North Korea. In Camp 15, he received torture such as beating and starvation. He also witnessed public executions of other prisoners.

Lee Soon Shil
She was repatriated to North Korea from China 9 times and received horrible torture in a labor training camp. Agents seared her body with a hot iron and beat her. Her daughter was trafficked in China.

Kim Tae Jin
He escaped from North Korea but was repatriated to North Korea from China. Then he was detained in Camp 15 and received torture such as beating and forced to sit all day without any movement.

Kim Dong Ram
His son was taken to a political prison camp without any trial just because he escaped from North Korea and interacted with Christianity.

Kim Kwang Hwi
Her family was related to Kim Il Sung’s second wife, Kim Sung Ae. During the 1970s, her family was politically purged and sent to a political prison camp.

Kim Hye Sook
She was taken to a political prison camp when she was only 13 because of guilt by association.

Park Soon Hee
Her co-worker’s family escaped from North Korea, but North Korean agents kidnapped them in China and brought them back to North Korea. They were later sent to a political prison camp just because they escaped from North Korea.

Jeong Hee Soon
She and her daughter escaped from North Korea to earn money in China. In China, her daughter wanted to go to South Korea, but on the way to South Korea, her daughter was caught by the Chinese police and repatriated to North Korea. Later, her daughter was taken to a political prison camp.

Kim Mi Hee
Her family was falsely charged with breaking the statue of Kim Il Sung and taken to a political prison camp. Almost 90 people who were related to her family were also taken to a political prison camp under false charges.

Kwon Young Hee
Her brother escaped from North Korea to earn money in China. However, that time was the national mourning period of Kim Il Sung’s death, so when he was arrested in China and repatriated to North Korea, he was sent to a political prison camp and treated more severely because he escaped from North Korea during the mourning period of Kim Il Sung’s death.

Shin Hye Sook
Her husband frequently crossed a river between North Korea and China to meet his sister in China. However, someone in her town reported him to the National Security Agency, and he was taken to a political prison camp. Also, Shin Hye Sook was forcibly divorced from her husband by the NSA.

Ji Seong Ho
His arm and leg were amputated because of a train accident in North Korea. Because of starvation, he escaped from North Korea but was repatriated to North Korea and received horrible torture. Since he had a physical disability, he was treated more severely than other prisoners in North Korea.

Ji Hyeon Ah
She escaped from North Korea and was repatriated back three times. While she was investigated in the National Security Agency, she received horrible human rights violations and was subjected to forced abortion without anesthesia. Also, when she was detained in a labor detention facility, she witnessed forced abortion and infanticide of other prisoners and prisoners’ babies.

The post UN Watch and 20 North Korean survivors urge Swiss to freeze regime’s bank accounts appeared first on UN Watch.

Speaking in Arabic and on behalf of UN Watch, Father Gabriel Naddaf of Nazareth intervened during the recent 27th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Mr. President, I am speaking to you on behalf of UN Watch.

Standing before you is Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Christian citizen from Nazareth, the city in which Christ was raised and where he proselytized.

Dear Sirs, while I stand before you today, the earth of the Middle East is soaked with the blood of Christians being killed daily.

Do you know that at the start of the 20th century, Christians comprised 20% of the population of the Middle East?
Today they comprise only 4%.

Do you know that over the past years some 100,000 Christians have been killed annually? And why? Not for a crime they’ve committed, but only for believing in Christ.

In Iraq alone, more than 77% of the Christians have fled during the year 2000, in addition to thousands killed and expelled.

Some 2 million Christians lived in Syria, but today, they are less than 250,000.

Christians in these countries are treated as second-class citizens; facing racial, religious, economic and social discrimination.

Why is this happening? Only due to their religion, a religion that advocates love and peace between mankind.
Christians in the Middle East are marginalized, their rights denied, their property stolen, their honor violated, their men killed, and their children displaced.

Where will they go? Who will defend them? And who will guard their property?

If we look at the Middle East, Mr. President, we realize there’s only one safe place where Christians are not persecuted.

One place where they are protected, enjoying freedom of worship and expression, living in peace and not subjected to killing and genocide.

It is Israel, the country I live in. The Jewish state is the only place where the Christians of the Holy Land live in safety.

Christians and Jews live in Israel not only because Christ was originally Jewish, born in Jewish Bethlehem, but because they share a common destiny, and a true hope to coexist in peace.

Does the world acknowledge Israel for protecting its Christians? Many in the international community have chosen to criticize Israel.

This, in my mind, is a double crime: because by doing so, the international community helps those striving to annihilate the Jews, the Christians, the Druze and the Yazidis for political ends.

By doing so, the international community unfortunately contributes to exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. It causes Christians to leave the land of Christ searching for a safe haven across the world.

It is time for the world to awaken and realize the truth of those striving to destroy the Jewish state.

They are hastening the death sentence of Christians in the Middle East and the Holy Land, the land which witnessed the birth and life of our Lord Jesus Christ. If they leave, who will remain in it?

I, Father Gabrial Naddaf of Nazareth, stand before you and plead: O world leaders and supporters of peace, stop those who want to destroy the only free Jewish state in the region.

It is the only refuge welcoming and protecting all of its citizens. It is the only place that does not attempt to push out Christians, forcing them to leave their land in search of security.

I implore you from the bottom of my heart to hear the cry of the Christians of the Middle East before it is too late, and you may read about them only in the history books.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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