Hillel Neuer

Address to the United Nations Council on Human Rights

delivered 23 March 2007, 4th Regular Session

Audio mp3 of Address

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio.]

Thank you, Mr. President.

Six decades ago, in the aftermath of the Nazi horrors, Eleanor Roosevelt, Réné Cassin and other eminent figures gathered here, on the banks of Lake Geneva, to reaffirm the principle of human dignity. They created the Commission on Human Rights. Today, we ask: What has become of this noble dream?

In this session we see the answer.  Faced with compelling reports from around the world of torture, persecution, and violence against women, what has this Council pronounced? What has it decided? Nothing. Its response has been silence. Its response has been indifference. Its response has been criminal. One might say, in Harry Truman’s words, that this has become a Do-Nothing, Good-for-Nothing Council.

But that would be inaccurate. This Council has, after all, done something. It has enacted one resolution after another condemning one single state: Israel. In eight pronouncements -- and there will be three more this session -- Hamas and Hezbollah have been granted impunity. The entire rest of the world -- millions upon millions of victims, in 191 countries -- continue to go ignored.

So yes, this Council has done something. And the Middle East dictators who orchestrate this campaign will tell you it is a very good thing, and that they seek to protect human rights, Palestinian rights.

So, too, the racist murderers of Darfur women, the rapists of Darfur women, tell us they care about the rights of Palestinian women; the occupiers of Tibet care about the occupied; and the butchers of Muslims in Chechnya care about Muslims.

But do these self-proclaimed defenders truly care about Palestinian rights?

Let us consider the past few months. More than 130 Palestinians were killed by Palestinian forces. This is three times the combined total that were the pretext for calling special sessions in July and November. Yet the champions of Palestinian rights -- Ahmadinejad, Assad, Khaddafi, John Dugard -- say nothing. Little 3-year-old boy, Salam Balousha, and his two brothers, were murdered in their car by Prime Minister Haniyeh’s troops. Why has this Council chosen silence?

Because -- Because Israel could not be blamed. Because, in truth, the despots who run this Council couldn’t care less about Palestinians, or about any human rights. They seek to demonize Israeli democracy, to delegitimize the Jewish state, to scapegoat the Jewish people.  They also seek something else: To distort and pervert the very language and idea of human rights.

You ask: What has become of the founders’ dream? Of Eleanor Roosevelt, of Réné Casssin, of John Humphrey, P.C. Chang, Charles Malik, who assembled here in Geneva sixty years ago?  Mr. President, with terrible lies and moral inversion, this Council is turning that dream into a nightmare.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Luis Alfonso de Alba¹

Response to Mr. Neuer

(transcription based on UN Interpreter)

For the first time in this session, I will not express thanks for that statement. 

I shall point out to the distinguished representative of the organization that just spoke, the distinguished representative of United Nations Watch -- if you'd kindly listen to me. I am sorry, but I am not in a position to thank you for your statement.

I should mention that I will not tolerate any similar statements in the Council. The way in which members of this Council were referred to, and indeed the way in which the Council itself was referred to -- all of this is inadmissible.

In the memory of the persons that you referred to, founders of the Human Rights Commission, and for the good of human rights, I would urge you in any future statements to observe some minimum proper conduct and language. Otherwise, any statement you make in similar tones to those used today will be taken out of the records.

¹ President, United Nations Human Rights Council

Page Updated: 1/29/24

U.S. Copyright Status: Text and Audio = Uncertain.