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Hillel Neuer: UN prostitutes itself to dictators looking to end western sanctions

9 1
yesterday

The General Assembly is hosting a gathering of human rights violators hoping to escape repercussions for their crimes

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The United Nations General Assembly has barely paid attention to the war in Sudan — despite 150,000 killed, 15-million displaced and 25-million hungry — yet on Dec. 4, delegates are convening to inaugurate the “International Day against Unilateral Coercive Measures,” which is UN-speak for condemning western sanctions on the world’s worst dictatorships.

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Sponsored by a rogues gallery that includes China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, the UN’s new dystopian holiday is the culmination of a decade of propaganda at the world body.

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In a bid to flip the script, authoritarian regimes have hijacked UN discussions on human rights with incessant speeches pointing to western sanctions — imposed in response to their gross abuses — as the root of all evil.

Their big victory came in 2014, when the UN Human Rights Council created a position to promote the Orwellian concept that sanctioning abusive regimes is itself a violation of human rights.

In an Iranian-led resolution, the council created the position of “special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights.” To fill the post, it appointed Algerian diplomat Idriss Jazairy, who paradoxically had led a major effort to muzzle independent human rights experts.

Jazairy quickly went to work. Within months, while Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir was wanted for........

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