GENEVA, May 7, 2019 — The Geneva-based non-governmental organization UN Watch today filed a complaint with UN chief Antonio Guterres regarding an apparent new UN rule that effectively bars human rights dissidents from speaking at the United Nations. (See text of complaint below; PDF here.)

According to officers at the accreditation desk at the UN Office at Geneva, a new rule requires UN visitors to have passports from a UN Member State, rather than another form of identification as was previously allowed.

UN Watch’s complaint calls on Guterres to reinstate the UN’s former practice.

The organization became aware of the new practice when two of its guests—former political prisoners in China who now reside in the United States—were informed by the UN accreditation desk in Geneva that they could not enter the premises without a passport from a UN member state. As political dissidents who have fled from China, the visitors did not have valid passports from the country.

According to UN Watch’s executive director Hillel Neuer, the policy change is particularly worrisome because dissidents who flee their home countries due to persecution are often not issued passports from their countries of refuge but are rather issued other valid forms of identification.

“The ability of these brave men and women to spotlight human rights abuses in their home countries—committed by regimes which in many cases sit on the UN Human Rights Council—is critical to the functioning of the UN human rights system,” he said.

By preventing voices of dissent from speaking, the rule empowers oppressive regimes to control the narrative on their human rights situations at the UN, according to Neuer.

“Any rule which effectively prevents dissidents from entering the UN and participating in human rights proceedings violates their right to freedom of expression—which is typically suppressed in their countries of origin—and hinders the human rights work of the UN,” said Neuer.

Letter from UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer to 
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, 7 May 2019

Dear Secretary-General Guterres,

We are deeply concerned about an apparent new UN rule that effectively bars human rights dissidents from speaking at the United Nations.

At an event that we hosted for human rights dissidents last month at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, two of our invited speakers, Mr. Dhondup Wangchen and Dr. Yang Jianli—former political prisoners in China now resident in the United States—were informed by the UN registration desk that they could not enter the premises without a passport from a UN Member State. When Dr. Yang noted that on multiple prior occasions he had been accredited without the passport of any country, but rather with other valid ID, the officer said the rules have recently been changed.

As you may know, dissidents are often forced to flee their home countries due to persecution for their human rights activism. Those governments typically deny the dissidents a passport. Once the dissidents have found a country of refuge, they will often be issued travel documents from that government—but not a passport. What this means is that the most compelling human rights witnesses in the world—dissidents who recently fled authoritarian regimes—typically have no valid passport.

The ability of these brave men and women to spotlight human rights abuses in their home countries—committed by regimes which in many cases sit on the UN Human Rights Council—is critical to the functioning of the UN human rights system. Any rule which effectively prevents dissidents from entering the UN and participating in human rights proceedings violates their right to freedom of expression—which is typically suppressed in their countries of origin—and hinders the human rights work of the UN.

We urge you to confirm that the UN will not require a country passport for accreditation to UN meetings, and will instead continue its previous policy of accepting other valid forms of identification.

Sincerely,

Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director

The post UN's New Passport Requirement 'Bans Dissidents', Watchdog Tells UN Chief appeared first on UN Watch.

The post Does OHCHR Enable China's Harassment of Dissidents? appeared first on UN Watch.

 Canadian Parliament: All-party coalition of MPs stood with dissidents and families of
political prisoners as former justice minister Irwin Cotler and UN Watch Executive Director
Hillel Neuer urged democracies to oppose the re-election of Saudi Arabia, Russia, China
and Cuba to the UN Human Rights Council.

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2016 — At a Canadian Parliament press conference held on Wednesday in Ottawa, MPs from all of the country’s major political parties joined dissidents and families of political prisoners as former justice minister Irwin Cotler and UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer urged democracies to oppose the re-election of Saudi Arabia, Russia, China and Cuba to the UN Human Rights Council.
Asked to respond, Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion said “Canada will announce its decision in due time, but what I can say is that the strong voice of Canadians speaking for human rights is something we also consider, especially when you have a champion like Irwin Cotler.”
The dissidents and activists also presented at a United Nations press conference in New York yesterday, and at a panel last night hosted by New York University.
The series of high profile events was organized by UN Watch, Human Rights Foundation, and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, founded and headed by Prof. Cotler.

(L-R) Chair of International Human Rights Committee Michael Levitt, former MP Irwin Cotler, and Conservative Foreign Affairs Critic Peter Kent speak at a press conference on Parliament Hill on Oct. 5, 2016, supporting UN Watch’s appeal. (Gerry Smith/NTD)

Media Coverage

• 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

Canada must publicly declare that it will not vote human-rights abusers such as China onto the United Nations Human Rights Council, and it should pressure other democracies to make the same pledge, former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler and an all-party alliance of MPs say.

Chinese dissident Yang Jianli, member of UN Watch’s advisory board

The post UN Watch Launches Opposition to Right Abusers  as Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Cuba Seek Re-Election to UN Human Rights Council appeared first on UN Watch.

__________

Appeal for Amnesty of Political Prisoners

Testimony before the UN Human Rights Council, delivered by UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, June 24, 2016.
Mr. President, this session marks the council’s 10^th anniversary, which it has celebrated with a high level event gathering all presidents from the past ten years, with concerts, and with ceremonial flags flying on the Mont Blanc bridge, overlooking Lake Geneva.
United Nations Watch takes the floor today to make a special appeal. We do so in the name of family members of political prisoners worldwide who have declared their support:

• Ensaf Haidar, wife of Raif Badawi, blogger, political prisoner in Saudi Arabia
• Anastasia Zotova, fiancée of Ildar Dadin, human rights activist and political prisoner in Russia
• Ti-Anna Wang, daughter of Wang Binzhang, pro-democracy leader, political prisoner in China
• Lilian Tintori, wife of Leopoldo López, opposition leader, political prisoner in Venezuela
• Dang Ngoc Minh, mother of Nguyen Dang Minh Man, journalist, democracy activist and political prisoner in Vietnam
• Yunisleisi Soto Garcia, wife of Alexander Palacio Reyes, democracy activist and political prisoner in Cuba

We believe there can be no better way for the council to celebrate its anniversary than to announce a decision—one that would embody the values of founding Resolution 60/251, which reaffirmed that all States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, have the duty to promote and protect all human rights.
A decision that would embody the Article 9 guarantee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
A decision that would embody the solemn undertaking of Member States of the Council to uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights, and to fully cooperate with the Council and its mechanisms, which includes the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which has repeatedly called for the release of all political prisoners.
Therefore, given that—despite all of the above—numerous Member States of the Council continue to arbitrarily imprison human rights defenders, journalists, opposition leaders, dissidents, bloggers, and democracy activists, who are detained under criminal charges as a way to impair the exercise of their basic human rights, and to silence them,
We hereby appeal to all Member States of the Council to honor their obligations, and—to show that this 10th anniversary is not just about concerts and flags, but about human beings—to issue an amnesty, and release all political prisoners forthwith.

The post UN: Venezuela fails to silence political prisoners' appeal for amnesty appeared first on UN Watch.

GENEVA, June 10, 2016 — UN Watch today called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UN human rights high commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power and EU foreign affairs commissioner Federica Mogherini to endorse an appeal to all 47 member states of the UN Human Rights Council to issue an amnesty to release their political prisoners on the occasion of the Council’s 10th anniversary, which on Monday is being celebrated in Geneva at a high level ceremony with the participation of all past presidents of the Council.

The post Issue 592: World Leaders Urged to Endorse Appeal for Amnesty of Political Prisoners as UN Human Rights Council Celebrates 10th Anniversary on Monday 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.

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.

The post Let us change North Korean lives appeared first on UN Watch.

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