Anne Bayefsky: Depravity at the UN Human Rights Council

For Immediate Release: July 24, 2014

Contact: info@humanrightsvoices.org Follow us on Twitter

Depravity at the UN Human Rights Council This article by Anne Bayefsky originally appeared on The Jerusalem Post. The UN Human Rights Council held a special session in Geneva on July 23, 2014 to declare effectively that Israelis do not have human rights. The vote was 29 in favor, 1 against and 17 abstentions. The Obama administration voted against – after joining and legitimizing the virulently anti-Jewish Council for the past five years, and now feigning disappointment for American cameras. The Europeans abstained because they did not want to upset their violent Muslim minorities, and because their sordid past didn’t leave the resolution’s message too foreign in any case. A few cowardly countries that Israelis have magnanimously befriended over the years also abstained. But the majority of the UN world cheered – literally. Speakers during the procession of hatemongers at the Council were greeted with applause. As is their wont, CNN, the New York Times and company derived from this spectacle the lesson that Israel is pathetic, isolated and doomed. But the real takeaway is the polar opposite.

Anne Bayefsky: Europe, US Pressuring Israel to Endure Discrimination at UN Human Rights Council

For Immediate Release: October 27, 2013

Contact: info@humanrightsvoices.org Follow us on Twitter

Europe, US Pressuring Israel to Endure Discrimination at UN Human Rights Council This article by Anne Bayefsky originally appeared on The Jerusalem Post. The United Nations is gearing up for yet another attack upon Israel – even more outrageous on this occasion because it has been arranged in the name of equality. The so-called “Universal Periodic Review” (UPR), will take place in Geneva on October 29, 2013, under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council. The label is intended to evoke the equal treatment of all UN member states, notwithstanding the actual treatment of the UN’s favorite whipping boy. The UPR was concocted after the credibility of the Council’s predecessor – the UN Human Rights Commission – finally took a fatal hit. On March 15, 2006, with the United States and Israel voting against, the General Assembly pushed the Commission out one door and dragged the Council in through another. The “reform” of the UN’s top human rights body was fundamentally flawed, however, since American efforts to condition membership on some degree of actually protecting human rights, were totally rejected. The UPR has been called the Council’s most important innovation. Then President of the General Assembly, Swede Jan Eliasson, said of the UPR just before the vote: “Such a mechanism would ensure equal treatment with respect to all Member States and would prevent double standards and selectivity.” The European Union was also enthusiastic, claiming the Council was a glorious “opportunity to build new trust by addressing human rights in a spirit of honesty, equal treatment and the avoidance of double standards.” The assurances were untrue.

NGO Monitor Urges UNHRC to Comply with Fact-Finding Standards

PRESS RELEASE November 1, 2012  Contact: Ariella Kimmel NGO Monitor +972-53-522-3966 ariella.kimmel@ngo-monitor.org NGO Monitor Urges UNHRC to Comply with Fact-Finding Standards    Submission to mission on settlements highlights lack of transparency and objectivity JERUSALEM - NGO Monitor has filed a submission to the UN Human Rights Council's (HRC) "independent international fact-finding Mission on the Israeli Settlements," expressing concern over the Mission's working methods and calling for compliance with fact-finding standards and ethical principles. The submission demands, at a minimum, strict adherence to the principles of impartiality and objectivity, transparency in all interactions with NGOs, and professional guidelines for assessing the credibility, and factual and legal claims of NGOs.

UNHRC To #Syria: Let's Try Again When Things Quiet Down

It looks like the pressure against Syria's candidacy for a seat at the UN Human Rights Council has paid off:

Kuwait, not Syria, to run for UN rights body

Under pressure from fellow UN member states, Syria dropped plans to run for a seat on thei top UN human rights body and allowed Kuwait to replace it as a candidate, UN diplomats said on Tuesday.

But don't be too impressed. It's not as if the members are actually taking a principled stance or anything. Instead, the UNHRC is just waiting for the heat (or the protesters) to die down.

According to some envoys:

...Syria planned to trade candidacies with Kuwait, which was slated to run for the rights council in 2013, and drop out of the 2011 race for one of the four spots available to Asian countries.

...“It is not really the time for Syria to become a UN Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters on Monday.

That's right. It's not that there is anything objectionable about a regime murdering its people -- no, it's the fuss people make over such things.

Truth be told, this is just the kind of stunt you'd expect from the UNHRC.

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