Israel Matzav

UN Watch calls Arbour for endorsing Arab Human Rights Charter

UN Watch has demanded that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour (pictured, top left) clarify her January 24 endorsement of the 'Arab Charter of Human Rights,' which rejects all forms of 'racism and Zionism.'

We commend you for your statement of January 27, 2008, recognizing the current dangers of racism and anti-Semitism. We are concerned, however, by your statement of a few days earlier, dated January 24, 2008, welcoming the entry into force of the Arab Charter on Human Rights. We trust that you were not aware of the blatantly anti-Semitic statements contained in that charter, as described below. We urge you to issue a clarification on this matter. We also urge you to hold accountable any members of your Office who were or should have been aware of, but failed to call your attention to, these racist provisions.

“Rejecting all forms of racism and Zionism, which constitute a violation of human rights and a threat to international peace and security,” forms part of the opening preamble of the Arab Charter of Human Rights. Article 2 goes further and calls for the outright elimination of Zionism: “All forms of racism, Zionism and foreign occupation and domination constitute an impediment to human dignity and a major barrier to the exercise of the fundamental rights of peoples; all such practices must be condemned and efforts must be deployed for their elimination.”

As you know, Zionism is the movement for Jewish self-determination and asserts the inherent and internationally-acknowledged right of Israel to exist. A text that equates Zionism with racism, describes it as a threat to world peace, as an enemy of human rights and human dignity, and then urges its elimination, is blatantly anti-Semitic.

The call for her to hold people in her office accountable for her endorsing the Charter is a nice idea, but consider that they go on to state the following:

We note that the odious language of the preamble is published on your Office’s website. We also note that a newsletter published by your Office on March 15, 2004 expressly recognized “the language in the Charter related to Zionism” as a “contentious issue.” Consequently, it appears that one or more members of your Office may have been aware of the anti-Semitic language in the text, but failed to call this to your attention prior to your statement.

Yes, but given the UN Human Rights Council's and Arbour's past record, I would be shocked if she really didn't know exactly what she was endorsing.

Arbour is a big fan of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Remember this picture?


More on Arbour here and here.

More on the 'Human Rights Council' here, here, here, here, here, and here.

A great video on a past battle between UN Watch's Hillel Neuer and the 'Human Rights Council' is here.

Given Arbour's and the 'Human Rights Council's past record, does anyone really believe that Arbour made this endorsement because she didn't know what the Arab Human Rights Charter says? I don't think so.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:08 PM