Trending UN Watch tweets from November: Child marriage spikes in Iran; Toronto school board cancels Yazidi activist Nadia Murad; WHO skips Greek letter “Xi” in naming coronavirus variant to avoid offending Chinese dictator; Richard Ratcliffe goes on hunger strike for his wife jailed by Iran — and more.
A man who herded 1 million Uighurs into camps, jails human rights activists, crushed Tibet, disappeared courageous men and women who sounded the alarm on the coronavirus and suffocated freedom in Hong Kong now sits on the U.N.'s highest human rights body. I am not making this up. pic.twitter.com/PjzZTWak19
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 12, 2021
Starting on January 1st, no less than 68.1% of U.N. Human Rights Council members will be non-democracies—including China, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Pakistan and Qatar.
The dream of Eleanor Roosevelt, founding Chair of the U.N. Human Rights Commission, is turning into a nightmare.
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 12, 2021
They can’t call it the ‘Xi variant’ for the same reason there is no annual ‘Children’s Day’; every day is children’s day, and every variant of the Coronavirus is thanks to Xi Jinping. pic.twitter.com/Z1t66mic3T
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 27, 2021
Toronto School Board Cancels Yazidi Activist Nadia Murad
Toronto District School Board superintendent vetoes student book event with Yazidi activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad because her memoir about being captured and sexually enslaved by Islamic State terrorists “would foster Islamophobia.”https://t.co/2hJIkCumB0
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 21, 2021
Rashida Tlaib Marks UN Palestine Day
No, Congresswoman Tlaib, the Palestinian Arabs were never “forced to fight” and indeed on this very day in 1947 the United Nations General Assembly offered them a state which they rejected while launching a holy war of extermination against their Jewish neighbors which they lost. https://t.co/Qa3fstruvB
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 29, 2021
Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands Remembered
Today we remember the fate of 850,000 Jewish refugees forced out of Arab countries and Iran in the 20th century. Communities dating back 2500 years were destroyed.
At the UN, I asked Algeria, Egypt, Iraq & the others: “Where are your Jews?”
Full Video: https://t.co/i2bl2DPS7B pic.twitter.com/Pp14VfU9Xc
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 30, 2021
Child Marriage Spikes in Iran
This is the same Islamic Republic of Iran that was recently elected to the U.N. Women’s Rights Commission. https://t.co/7sIYtj4kj3
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 22, 2021
Countries Vote No to Condemn Iranian Human Rights Abuses
LIST OF SHAME: Countries who just voted NO to UN General Assembly condemnation of #Iran's human rights abuses.
🇰🇵 North Korea
🇵🇭 Philippines
🇻🇪 Venezuela
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
🇳🇮 Nicaragua
🇱🇧 Lebanon
🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇧🇾 Belarus
🇪🇷 Eritrea
🇷🇺 Russia
🇴🇲 Oman
🇨🇳 China
🇨🇺 Cuba
🇮🇳 India
🇮🇶 Iraq pic.twitter.com/McckY5uCtD— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 18, 2021
Masih Alinejad Calls Out Iranian Crimes
This is Courage. The Islamic Republic of Iran plotted to kidnap journalist Masih Alinejad from NYC and take her to Venezuela by speedboat and then to an ominous fate in Iran. Yet she has the bravery to fly to London and call out their crimes at the door of the regime’s embassy. https://t.co/honKPYTVGf
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 13, 2021
Richard Ratcliffe Goes on Hunger Strike for His Wife Jailed by Iran
Richard Ratcliffe is on day 18 of his hunger strike to demand Iran free his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who’s been imprisoned as a hostage for more than 5 years.
Spread the word to help bring Nazanin home to her husband and 7-year-old daughter Gabriella. #FreeNazanin pic.twitter.com/nxghKBp73s
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 10, 2021
‘Group of Friends’ Forms at UN
There’s a new “Group of Friends in Defense of the United Nations Charter.”
The 19 members include:
🇮🇷 Iran
🇵🇸 PLO
🇸🇾 Syria
🇨🇺 Cuba
🇨🇳 China
🇷🇺 Russia
🇪🇷 Eritrea
🇧🇾 Belarus
🇻🇪 Venezuela
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
🇰🇵 North KoreaI’m not making this up.
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 10, 2021
ICC Announces Venezuela Investigation
BREAKING: International Criminal Court prosecutor announces opening of full investigation into possible crimes against humanity in Venezuela.
Now more than ever, by virtue of Art. 8, Res. 60/251, it’s time to expel Maduro from the UN Human Rights Council. https://t.co/Zl6DjVlw4q
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 3, 2021
NOT on the U.N. Human Rights Council:
🇬🇭 Ghana
🇹🇼 Taiwan
🇳🇴 Norway
🇨🇦 Canada
🇸🇬 Singapore
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
🇳🇿 New ZealandON the U.N. Human Rights Council:
🇻🇪 Venezuela
🇨🇲 Cameroon
🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇸🇴 Somalia
🇪🇷 Eritrea
🇷🇺 Russia
🇧🇴 Bolivia
🇨🇳 China
🇱🇾 Libya
🇨🇺 CubaHave a nice day.
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 1, 2021
Liking, retweeting, following: UN Watch tweets were liked and shared by thousands around the world, including by opinion leaders and celebrities such as:
- UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion Ahmed Shaheed
- Former UN Security Council President Diego Arria
- Former Bolivian president Jorges Quiroga
- Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá, Iranian women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad, Saudi dissident Raif Badawi, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Human Rights Foundation president Thor Halvorssen, Miss Iraq Sarah Idan
- Canadian senator Leo Housakos, former Canadian immigration minister Chris Alexander
- Chair of the British parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat, Dutch MEP Peter van Dalen
- Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan
- Hudson Institute South & Central Asia Director and former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. Husain Haqqani
- U.S. actor Mark Pellegrino, UK television presenter & activist Rachel Riley, UK commentator Douglas Murray, UK historian and writer William Dalrymple
Many journalists also liked or shared UN Watch’s tweets, including:
- Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg, CNN anchor Isa Soares, National Review senior editor Jay Nordlinger & contributing editor Andrew Stuttaford
- UK broadcaster Piers Morgan, Spectator chairman and former BBC presenter Andrew Neil, Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson, Sky News Australia host Rita Panahi
