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The 2014 Catalog of U.N. Inaction on Global Human Rights Abuses
Testimony before U.N. Human
Rights Council, delivered by UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, 19 June
2014, in the debate under Agenda Item 3, "Promotion and Protection of All Human
Rights"
Thank you, Mr. President.
The members of this Council have been
mandated by the international community to protect victims of human rights
violations around the world. Is the Council living up to its mandate?
Let us consider the most fundamental of
all human rights—the right to life—by examining what has happened in the world,
over the past 12 months:
July 2013, Turkey: Doctors
report that in the Gezi Park protests, police killed 5 people, wounded 8,163 and
used chemical riot control weapons against more than 10,000.
August, Egypt: Authorities
crush the sit-in held by supporters of deposed president Morsi, killing 1,000
people.
September, Iran: One month
after President Rouhani’s inauguration, amid promises of human rights reforms,
Iranian officials ignore UN appeals, and hang a record 50 individuals.
Did the council respond with any
resolutions, urgent debates, or inquiries to determine the facts, and hold
perpetrators accountable? No. Its response was silence.
October, Afghanistan:
Terrorists bomb a minibus, killing 14 women and a child who were on their way to
celebrate a wedding.
November, Libya: Militia kill
31 during protests in Tripoli, injuring 235.
December, South Sudan: BBC
reports mass ethnic killings, including 200 shot by security forces.
January, Pakistan: 236
civilians killed by terrorist attacks.
This Council’s response? Silence.
February, Ukraine: Police kill
75 protesters in Kiev’s Independence Square.
March, China: Activist Cao
Shunli, who was arrested for trying to travel to Geneva and participate this
Council, mysteriously dies in prison.
April, Iraq: 750 Iraqis
killed, 1,541 injured by terrorism and other violence.
May, Venezuela: Troops arrest
243 student protesters and kill one of their own, bringing the death toll to 42
since the start of the opposition protests.
Finally, June -- a few weeks ago -- in
Nigeria: Boko Haram massacres 200 civilians while still holding the 276 school
girls it abducted in April…
 President: Please can I ask you to wait? There is a point of order
from Venezuela...
Venezuela: I think this speaker is out
of order and I would ask that he confine himself to the agenda items under
consideration. He’s also mentioned my country and I will take the floor later on
that...
France: France attaches great
importance to the voice of civil society which should be able to speak freely in
the work of the council and contribute to her work...
USA: Along
the same lines as my colleague from France, we firmly believe that NGOs and
civil society be heard... What the speaker was saying is consistent with the
topic of this agenda item so we urge you to let him continue.
 Cuba: I
am looking at the agenda, [and] we were never talking about countries as far as
I understood. We do not understand why the NGO has been spending its entire time
talking about country situations. This is not the agenda item for this...
Ireland: We do believe that the speaker
was speaking to the agenda item by providing concrete examples linked to those
thematic issues and therefore we would kindly ask that he be allowed to
continue.
China: China requests
the president to make a ruling to end the speech by this NGO.
Canada: Canada, much like others who
have spoke before us, firmly believes that accredited NGOs must be permitted to
speak at the council... It is essential to respect the council’s emphasis on
open dialogue. This is a question of freedom of speech... The statements that
were being made were pertinent to the agenda items that were being
discussed.
Norway: This statement
should not be interrupted because an NGO mentions concrete examples of human
rights violations so we therefore ask you to let the speaker continue the
statement.
 Iran: My delegation would like to
support the point of order made by the delegation of the
Venezuela.
Pakistan: My delegation also
supports the point of order raised by Venezuela. It is important that we should
respect and adhere to the rules of procedure and discuss relevant issues under
the relevant agenda items.
United Kingdom: The UK supports the
right of accredited NGOs to speak at the UN Human Rights Council... We request
that the speaker be allowed to finish their statement.
Egypt: We just want to also add our
voice to other speakers who spoke about the appropriateness of speaking under
the right agenda item. We don’t believe that what was mentioned in the statement
of the NGO here relates to our discussion.. there are certain rules and
regulations for this council all of us have to stick to.
President:
What I can say is that already I’ve noted that you agree that NGOs do have the
right to speak. The issues relating to human rights don’t take place in an
abstract context... If a speaker were to refer to relevant human rights issues
under the agenda item under consideration, it is possible that the speaker may
give examples or illustrations from specific examples from specific
situations... I give the floor back to the speaker.
UN Watch (Hillel
Neuer): Thank you. Mr. President, if it “inappropriate” to speak
about the urgent need to take action for victims of human rights violations
around the world, then why are we here?
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Labels: Fraud, Human Rights, Hypocrisy, Sanctimony, UN Watch, United Nations
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, June 25, 2014
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