Issue 513
Top legal scholar blasts U.N.’s William Schabas for ‘self-evident’ bias
The latest scholar of international law to call out the bias of William Schabas, chair of the U.N. commission of inquiry on Gaza, is Joseph Weiler, president of the European University Institute in Florence, the European Union Jean Monnet Chair at NYU law school, and Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of International Law.
“It is hard for me to accept that his pronouncement on Netanyahu as being his favourite to be in the dock of the ICC — regardless of the context of the comment — is consistent with ensuring ‘the appearance of impartiality’,” wrote Weiler. Read more
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Georgetown law prof: UNHRC ‘killed my candidacy’ as Palestine investigator for not being ‘partial’ like Schabas
Georgetown University law professor Christina Cerna said the U.N.’s highest human rights body “killed” her candidacy as its expert on Palestine — despite her selection by a 5-member vetting committee — on account of her not being “partial” like William Schabas, whom she said was chosen deliberately on the basis of his prior statements against Israel’s prime minister.
“They opposed me because I had never said anything pro-Palestinian and consequently was not known to be ‘partial’ enough to win their support. In my view Israel has a unique status in the UN Human Rights Council. Impartiality is not a requirement sought by the Council for the appointment of experts when it comes to Israel.” Read more
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The following profile from Geneva’s largest daily newspaper was recently translated from the original French into English.
Profile: Hillel Neuer, the Human Rights Activist
Over a few years, the Canadian lawyer who heads UN Watch has expanded the audience of the Geneva-based NGO and consolidated its reputation
Tribune de Genève
By Alain Jourdan
At the head of UN Watch for the past 10 years, the Canadian Hillel Neuer is a human rights activist who inspires fear and dread. His non-governmental organization excels in the art of applying pressure where it hurts the most. When realpolitik causes governments not to dwell on human rights violations in China, for example, UN Watch goes on the offensive.
Hillel Neuer could have continued his brilliant career as an attorney, which he began in New York at a large firm, to make a name for himself and a fortune.
Yet even then, he chose instead to defend the widow and the orphan, working pro bono for the most unfortunate.
And he even managed to embarrass the chief medical officer of the New York state prison system, who had placed a prisoner in solitary confinement under false medical pretenses.
The young lawyer has a role model. In Canada, he was the student and protégé of a renowned and respected human rights activist, Professor Irwin Cotler, former Minister of Justice and, above all, Nelson Mandela’s former counsel. Numerous dissidents from around the world request his legal assistance.
“One time during law school, I recall participating in one of Professor Cotler’s seminars, together with 15 other students. We were asked: What would you do if you became the director of a non-governmental organization?” recalls Hillel Neuer.
The young student was unaware that his professor had infected him with the human rights virus.
“To appear before the U.N. Human Rights Council is not like appearing before a court. One may nicely marshal the most compelling facts, evidence and arguments, and then find it had little effect on the verdict. At first, I was a bit confused,” confided the UN Watch director.
Even as he deplores the limitations of a system that is supposed to encourage countries to respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Hillel Neuer refuses to consider it a losing battle. “We still have the right to take the floor, and that is very important,” he explains.
An Open Forum
Since becoming the head of UN Watch, the lawyer has launched an annual human rights summit in Geneva which offers an open forum for dissidents from around the world. China, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea are some of the privileged targets of the NGO.
“A European diplomat once laughed in my face when I asked him why no one tries to submit a resolution on China. Yet I refuse to give up,” says Hillel Neuer.
“China represents one fifth of humanity and its inhabitants are deprived of freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. They remove the organs of Falun Gong practitioners who are arbitrarily arrested and tortured,” he says.
UN Watch and its director also have their critics. On many occasions the NGO has been reproached for its proximity to Israel, notably when it attacked Jean Ziegler. The Geneva sociologist’s radical positions with regard to Israel and his admiration for Chavez and Castro have cemented a solid and enduring enmity.
Presumed Proximity
When asked about the question of Israel, Hillel Neuer doesn’t dodge the debate. “Israel can be criticized like any other country. The problem is the relentless manner in which it is targeted at the UN. Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon themselves have denounced it. But as for who must defend Israel, that is the work of its ambassadors, not ours,” the director of UN Watch responds.
Today, the press releases and campaigns orchestrated in Geneva by Hillel Neuer cross borders thanks to the Internet and social networks.
Over the years, UN Watch’s criticism of the UN system has become less radical. Its activity has become focused on providing support to dissidents, and generating media exposure of the abuses and crimes committed by dictatorships and populist regimes.
