________

Letter to Professor Michael P. Scharf, President, American Branch of the International Law Association, October 5, 2023

Dear Professor Scharf,

We are shocked that the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) plans to present Navi Pillay with an “Outstanding Achievement Award” on October 21st. Her gross breach of ethics in presiding over a notorious UN commission, as documented below, utterly disqualifies her from such an award.

In July 2021, Ms. Pillay accepted to chair a Pakistani-sponsored UN Commission of Inquiry into alleged Israeli crimes, including those arising from the May 2021 war with Hamas, as well as “repression based on national, ethnic, racial, or religious identity.”

The rules of due process require that fact-finders in the human rights field be impartial. According to Professor Thomas M. Franck, former president of the American Society of International Law, this requirement implies that “persons conducting an investigation should be, and should be seen to be, free of commitment to a preconceived outcome.” This principle is codified in the UN’s own rules which disqualify fact-finders whose prior public statements could impact their impartiality or create perceptions of bias.

Yet prior to accepting this post, Pillay had publicly pronounced herself, in extreme terms, on the very issues that her inquiry is mandated to investigate. In June 2020, she signed a manifesto calling on governments to “Sanction Apartheid Israel.” In June 2021, a month before heading the inquiry, Pillay wrote a letter to President Biden calling to punish Israel for the May 2021 war with Hamas. She has made many more prior prejudicial pronouncements. (See UN Watch’s Request for Navi Pillay to Recuse Herself For Bias or the Appearance Thereof.)

This not all. In July 2022, Pillay’s fellow commissioner Miloon Kothari railed against “the Jewish Lobby” and questioned Israel’s right to be a member state of the UN. Mr. Kothari was condemned by the world’s leading democracies, and by top UN officials including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Astonishingly, however, Navi Pillay defended him.

Last year, after learning of these disturbing facts, the Mayor of Berlin withdrew her support for a Town Hall event set to honor Navi Pillay, and the award was canceled. As an organization dedicated to justice, we urge ABILA likewise to rescind this award.

Sincerely,

Baroness Ruth Deech DBE KC
Former Principal of St Anne’s College, University of Oxford

Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director, United Nations Watch

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Left to right: Iraqi Christians Ramzi Wahida & Maryam Wahida, UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, Iraqi Christian representative, and Yazidi spokesman Breen Tahseen

 
GENEVA, Aug. 20, 2014 – The following statement was issued today by Mr. Breen Tahseen, the son and spokesman of Prince Tahseen, leader of the Yazidi people, at the conclusion of Geneva diplomatic meetings:
Today I conducted valuable meetings in Geneva, on behalf of the Yazidi people, with UN representatives of the United States and the European Union, and with the UN office of the high commissioner for human rights.
We are grateful for the extensive, in-depth and productive discussions concerning the desperate plight of the Yazidi people.
We reached important consensus about the need for the international community to act. We appreciate their efforts and trust that concrete and effective action will follow.
On behalf of Prince Tahseen and the Yazidi people, we appeal to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to lead the call for the UN Human Rights Council to hold an emergency session in order to focus world attention on the desperate plight of the Yazidi people.
The outcome of the session should focus on the following key objectives:

• Release of the approximately 5,000 Yazidi people kidnapped by ISIS.
• Resettlement of Yazidi refugees in Europe, the U.S., Canada, and Australia, with priority to the victims of genocide and their families.
• Creation of a safe zone in Iraq for displaced persons, supervised by the UN and administered by Christians and Yazidis.
• Compensation to victims for material and moral damages, and an allocation to them under the Iraqi budget.

We also request that negotiations by the international community with Iraq should include direct consultation with the Yazidi people.
Finally, we wish to express our gratitude to the human rights group UN Watch for successfully organizing my visit to Geneva, along with an inspiring solidarity rally, UN press conference and diplomatic meetings.
Links to videos, photos and audio of UN rally and press conference

The post Iraqi Minorities in Geneva Meet UN, US, EU, Demand Emergency Session appeared first on UN Watch.

• Why HRW’s Ken Roth won’t condemn the kidnapping of Israeli teens

• UN Watch takes the floor at the UN Human Rights Council to expose violations of women’s rights by Sudan, Pakistan, Iran 

• Caracas officials lash out at UN Watch over upcoming Tuesday summit of Venezuelan dissidents

A Times of Israel blog post by Hillel Neuer
Why HRW’s Ken Roth won’t condemn the kidnapping of Israeli children

June 16, 2014
GENEVA – Unlike the UN secretary-general and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the head of Human Rights Watch is refusing to unequivocally condemn Thursday’s kidnapping of Israeli teenagers, emphasizing instead that they attended school in an “illegal settlement,” and demanding that his critics first condemn an unrelated event from a month ago, the alleged IDF killing of masked rock-throwers.
After repeated appeals from Twitter users for HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth to end his silence on the abductions, Roth finally responded with this carefully-constructed tweet: “Attending school at illegal settlement doesn’t legitimize apparent kidnapping of Israel teens. They should be freed.” But…. Click here to read more
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UN Watch takes the floor at UNHRC plenary, calls out Sudan, Pakistan, Iran for stoning, jailing, targeting women

In her final speech, outgoing UN rights chief Navi Pillay (above center) chose to single out Israel for one-sided condemnation, as she “commended Palestine.” While Pillay did criticize several other countries, she failed to say a word about gross and systematic human rights abuses committed by dozens of states, including by UNHRC members such as China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia. Then UN Watch took the floor.

UN Watch testimony before the UN Human Rights Council, 26th Session
June 10, 2014
Thank you, Mr. President. . . We wish to focus thematically on violations of women’s rights—in particular, those perpetrated by three members of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which is charged with protecting the rights of women.

Video: What Happened to the UN?This new UN Watch video tells the story of what happened to the United Nations—and how UN Watch battled over the past 12 months to defend the true principles of human rights at the world body.

First, Sudan. Last month, Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, a 27-year-old Christian woman, was sentenced to death by hanging, after she declined to profess she is a Muslim, the religion of her father. Sudan charged her with apostasy—and also adultery, for the crime of marrying a Christian.
Mr. President, let the record show that Sudan threw this woman into prison while she was eight months pregnant; that she was forced to give birth in prison; and that she is behind bars together with her 20-month-old son.
If ever there were a prisoner of conscience, it is Ms. Ibrahim. When will this Council take action to protect her?
Second, Pakistan. Two weeks ago, a 23 year-old pregnant woman was brutally murdered for marrying a man against her family’s wishes. A mob of 28—including members of her own family—beat her to death with bricks, in front of the courthouse in Lahore. The police did nothing.
Mr. President, hundreds of women in Pakistan are killed every year in such so-called honor killings. But where is the honor in Pakistani authorities turning a blind eye to these murders?
Finally, Iran. A few weeks ago, journalist Masih Alinejad created a Facebook page where women could post pictures of themselves without their hijab. Now Iran’s state TV has launched a vicious smear campaign against her.
Mr. President, does it make sense that these countries are the UN’s guardians of women’s rights?
Thank you, Mr. President.
______________
Upcoming UN Watch Summit of Venezuelan Dissidents Raises Ire of Caracas
National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello says UN Watch gathering this Tuesday seeks to “discredit” government

GENEVA, June 15, 2014 –  The head of the Venezuelan parliament was one of several top Caracas officials to lash out at an upcoming UN Watch gathering of Venezuelan dissidents at the United Nations Human Rights Council, where the government’s violent repression of protests is expected to come under intense scrutiny.
The first-ever UN summit of Venezuelan dissidents, which will draw together ambassadors, UN officials, and rights activists, is being organized by the Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch, with the co-sponsorship of Iniciativa por Venezuela, Human Rights Foundation and Directorio. Read More

The post HRW's Ken Roth stays silent; a new High Commissioner is named; UN Watch's latest video appeared first on UN Watch.

Violence against women Women in the Occupied Palestinian Territory face multiple layers of violence and discrimination. The analysis made by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women in 2005 remains valid. She found that the combination of decades of Israeli occupation, the use of force against Palestinians by Israel, the different forms of resistance used by Palestinians against such use of force and the patriarchy prevailing in Palestinian society expose women to a continuum of violence in all spheres of life.

The 2005 analysis invoked by Pillay was published in a report by Yakin Ertürk, then the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women. Why do Palestinian men beat their wives? The report tells us:

Women with husbands explained that the dire economic situation and the pressures of the occupation have made men more violent because they have lost their ability to provide and protect — two essential elements of manhood in a traditional patriarchal society. As men become stripped of their manhood, women become the shock absorbers of the crises as targets of domestic violence.

In other words: it’s Israel’s fault. This dangerous theme of moral displacement pervades the report:

Security measures are directed at the entire Palestinian population; in this regard, women are subjected to violence emanating from these measures in similar ways to other members of the society. However, owing to the diverse ways in which occupation and patriarchy intersect, the direct and indirect impact of security measures tends to have specific and compounded consequences for women. In order to demonstrate this, I focus on four measures employed by the Israeli authorities…

By Navi Pillay regurgitating Erturk’s 2005 canard, the UN is once again telling Palestinian men that they have no moral agency, and bear little or no responsibility for their inhumane actions against women. What the UN is doing, once again, is to displace moral responsibility and prime agency. Palestinian men are not primarily to blame for their violence against women, says the UN. Israel is.

The post UN: When Palestinian Men Beat Their Wives, It's Israel's Fault appeared first on UN Watch.

• On July 6, 2011, Ms. Seif advocated the blowing up of pipelines exporting Egyptian gas to Israel. She praised those who commit such crimes as “heroes.” Many have been killed and injured in violence connected to Egyptian police efforts to stop these attacks.

• On November 6, 2012, Ms. Seif endorsed Al Qassam Brigades attacks on civilians. On that day, Amnesty International tweeted a “Demand that @netanyahu & @AlqassamBrigade stop attacks on civilians.” Ms. Seif publicly rejected the call, writing:“you don’t ask an occupied nation to stop their “Resistance” to end violence!!! SHAME ON YOU!”

• On November 20, 2012, Ms. Seif endorsed the arming of Gaza terrorist groups. On that day, Amnesty International tweeted: “Stop the madness! Share this image if you want an arms embargo on all sides #Israel#Hamas #Gaza.” The image showed innocent civilians in Israel andGaza. Seif responded: “@amnesty & @hrw r leading a shameful campaign asking Palestinians under occupation & non stop air strikes 2 stop their resistance!”

In other words, Ms. Seif not only engaged in public incitement to the blowing up of pipelines, but attacked calls to end violence against Israeli civilians as “shameful.” In endorsing the actions of the Al Qassam Brigades, she was effectively advocating, supporting and legitimizing attacks such as their launch of Fajr 5 missiles at the city of Tel Aviv.
Concerning Israelis, Mona Seif has glorified violence, blood, and martyrdom:

• On March 19, 2012, Mona Seif tweeted:“Palestineis my way and I am full of determination and will. I will draw my blood in the West Bank, I will fight to my death in Gaza, in Bethlehem I will strengthen my people, and in Jerusalem I will achieve martyrdom…”
• On March 22, 2012, Mona Seif tweeted:“A day will yet come when I will join the resistance and participate in the intifada. Palestine is my way, and I am full of determination and will. I will draw my blood in the West Bank; I will fight to my death in Gaza…”

The United Nations Charter is dedicated to the promotion of peace. Mona Seif seeks to violently destroy peace. Unless you clarify your opposition to her many statements supporting violence, your presence tonight is liable to send a terrible message.
As a Princeton college student wrote:“Human-rights organizations should be at the forefront of advancing egalitarian ideals. This means withholding international human rights awards from activists, like Ms. Seif, who have publicly voiced blatantly violent views.”
We urge you to condemn Mona Seif’s statements that violate the right to life, oppose peace and support terrorism.
Sincerely,
Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director

The post Tonight: UN Rights Chief Navi Pillay to Headline Prize Ceremony with Terror Sympathizer Mona Seif appeared first on UN Watch.

GENEVA, October 8, 2013 – UN rights chief Navi Pillay will headline a controversial Geneva ceremony today featuring a terrorism sympathizer as one three final nominees for what is billed as the world’s top human rights prize.

In a letter to High Commissioner Pillay, the non-governmental group UN Watch urged her to make clear that she condemns the repeated statements by nominee Mona Seif that opposed calls by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch for Hamas to stop rocket attacks on civilians, which she justified as “resistance.”

8 October 2013

Dear High Commissioner Pillay,

I urge you, as the person giving out tonight’s Martin Ennal Award, to make clear your opposition to the violence and terrorism advocated by Final Nominee Mona Seif.
Mona Seif was nominated specifically for her tweets. Yet her tweets also say the following:

• On July 6, 2011, Ms. Seif advocated the blowing up of pipelines exporting Egyptian gas to Israel. She praised those who commit such crimes as “heroes.” Many have been killed and injured in violence connected to Egyptian police efforts to stop these attacks.

• On November 6, 2012, Ms. Seif endorsed Al Qassam Brigades attacks on civilians. On that day, Amnesty International tweeted a “Demand that @netanyahu & @AlqassamBrigade stop attacks on civilians.” Ms. Seif publicly rejected the call, writing:“you don’t ask an occupied nation to stop their “Resistance” to end violence!!! SHAME ON YOU!”

• On November 20, 2012, Ms. Seif endorsed the arming of Gaza terrorist groups. On that day, Amnesty International tweeted: “Stop the madness! Share this image if you want an arms embargo on all sides #Israel#Hamas #Gaza.” The image showed innocent civilians in Israel andGaza. Seif responded: “@amnesty & @hrw r leading a shameful campaign asking Palestinians under occupation & non stop air strikes 2 stop their resistance!”

In other words, Ms. Seif not only engaged in public incitement to the blowing up of pipelines, but attacked calls to end violence against Israeli civilians as “shameful.” In endorsing the actions of the Al Qassam Brigades, she was effectively advocating, supporting and legitimizing attacks such as their launch of Fajr 5 missiles at the city of Tel Aviv.
Concerning Israelis, Mona Seif has glorified violence, blood, and martyrdom:

• On March 19, 2012, Mona Seif tweeted:“Palestineis my way and I am full of determination and will. I will draw my blood in the West Bank, I will fight to my death in Gaza, in Bethlehem I will strengthen my people, and in Jerusalem I will achieve martyrdom…”
• On March 22, 2012, Mona Seif tweeted:“A day will yet come when I will join the resistance and participate in the intifada. Palestine is my way, and I am full of determination and will. I will draw my blood in the West Bank; I will fight to my death in Gaza…”

The United Nations Charter is dedicated to the promotion of peace. Mona Seif seeks to violently destroy peace. Unless you clarify your opposition to her many statements supporting violence, your presence tonight is liable to send a terrible message.
As a Princeton college student wrote:“Human-rights organizations should be at the forefront of advancing egalitarian ideals. This means withholding international human rights awards from activists, like Ms. Seif, who have publicly voiced blatantly violent views.”
We urge you to condemn Mona Seif’s statements that violate the right to life, oppose peace and support terrorism.
Sincerely,
Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director

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GENEVA, May 31, 2013 – In reaction to this morning’s brutal Turkish police action that targeted peaceful protesters and journalists, creating scenes of chaos on the streets of Istanbul, a Geneva-based human rights group is demanding an urgent debate of the United Nations Human Rights Council, now in session, in a letter (see full text below) sent today to Council President Remigiusz Achilles Henczel, and UN rights chief Navi Pillay.

“The UN must make it clear to the government of Prime Minister Erdogan that if Turkey truly aspires to be a model for others in the turbulent Middle East, it must end its repeated use of police brutality, excessive force and disproportionate measures, and stop trampling on the UN-guaranteed freedoms of speech and assembly of peaceful protesters, whose only crime this time was opposing the uprooting of trees,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch.

Neuer added that “Turkey remains the world’s biggest prison for journalists, with reporters being the canary in the coal mine concerning freedom of speech for all.”

Text of today’s UN Watch letter to UNHRC:

31 May 2013
Dear UNHRC President Remigiusz Achilles Henczel,
Dear High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay,
UN Watch is shocked by the Turkish riot police action in the early hours of this morning, when they fired tear gas canisters and used water cannons to violently crush a peaceful sit-in by hundreds of people trying to prevent trees from being uprooted at an Istanbul park, causing the injury of at least 12 people.
We urge you to call for an Urgent Debate of the UN Human Rights Council, when it reconvenes on Monday to begin consideration next week of human rights situations that require the Council’s attention.
While Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler announced that authorities would investigate, this pledge appears inadequate, insufficient, and insincere, given that he simultaneously defended the crackdown, saying officers were “carrying out their duties” against an “illegal occupation” of the park.
We are alarmed by reports that at least two people—including a journalist—were hit in the head by tear gas canisters. Two opposition legislators were among several hospitalized after being affected by the gas.
According to credible reports, the injured journalist, Ahmet Sik, and others were deliberately targeted by police. A Reuters photographer was also injured.
Excellencies, today’s police brutality in Istanbul is only the latest in a series of aggressive and illegal measures cracking down on peaceful protests, with Turkish police routinely resorting to excessive and disproportionate force in breach of the international human rights covenants and commitments to which Turkey is a signatory.
We urge you to take action and thereby uphold the Council’s obligation to promote and protect universal human rights.
Sincerely,
Hillel Neuer
Executive Director

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GENEVA, July 6 – The UN Human Rights Council today began its sixth inquiry into alleged Israeli violations, naming three female jurists: Christine Chanet of France, Unity Dow of Botswana and Asma Jahangir of Pakistan (photos above, left to right).

“I have appointed three highly distinguished individuals to carry out the Council’s fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem,” said UNHRC President Laura Dupuy Lasserre.

However, the Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch expressed concerns over the probe’s lack of balance, noting the mandate’s failure to address any violations by the Palestinian side.

Established by a March resolution, the terms of the inquiry provide that it will only examine Israeli actions and how they impact the human rights of Palestinians. Instead of acknowledging that there are human rights victims on all sides, the inquiry’s mandate is one-sided and lacks credibility.

Its terms were framed in a 4-page resolution, co-sponsored by the Arab and Islamic groups, that omits any reference to Arab terrorism against Israeli civilians, including the hundreds of rockets fired recently from Gaza and Sinai into Israeli towns and villages.

The only victims it contemplates are Palestinians, the only perpetrator, Israel. In the guise of human rights, Syria and other oppressive regimes sponsored the inquiry to deflect attention from their own crimes, to scapegoat Israel, and to erode its international standing.

UN Watch today called on the commissioners — including Asma Jahangir, whose sister Hina Jilani served on the U.N.’s controversial Goldstone commission in 2009 — not to commit the same errors of the Goldstone Report, which Judge Goldstone famously acknowledged two years later.

The watchdog group expressed particular concern that the head of the inquiry, Christine Chanet, recentlyaccused Israel of “total discrimination,” and stated that “it is very difficult to have a real dialogue (with Israel).”Her comments do not reflect the impartial attitude and approach required under international law for fact-finders.

When Ms. Jahangir earlier served as the Human Rights Council’s expert on religious freedom, the Washington Post in 2005 published a UN Watch letter complaining about her record.

Ms. Jahangir had ignored detailed petitions sent over 18 months concerning state-sponsored, hate-filled Saudi and Egyptian schoolbooks. By contrast, she had criticized the Danish government for being insufficiently quick to condemn a newspaper’s one-time publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.

The new U.N. probe has no deadline for when it will publish its report.

The office of High Commissioner Navi Pillay has organized a secretariat to assist the three new commissioners, but the staffers were not named.

The post Issue 372: U.N. names 3 commissioners for new probe against Israel appeared first on UN Watch.

The National Assembly of Quebec passed Bill 78 on May 18 after months of student protests against rising tuition fees in the province. The law requires organizers of protests involving 50 or more people to notify the police with details of the demonstration eight hours beforehand. Offenders are required to pay daily fines ranging from $1,000 to $125,000, depending on their involvement and leadership role in the protests.

In response to Pillay’s statement, Hillel Neuer, the director of UN Watch, a human rights organization that monitors UN compliance with its own charter, argued that even though Canada is fair game for criticism, it is “simply absurd” to highlight Canada without citing violations in countries such as China, Belarus, and Cuba. “When a prosecutor goes after jaywalkers while allowing rapists and murderers to roam free, that’s not only illogical, but immoral,” added Neuer.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International said Bill 78 “breaches Canada’s international human rights obligations”.

Original URL: https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/06/19/blame-canada-un-slams-new-anti-protest-law/

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