[Opinion] Can Canada Help Fix the UN's Human Rights Disaster?
Professor Gerald M. Steinberg discusses how Canada is vital in providing a new agenda for the UN.
Publications: | Reports, Books, Academic Publications, Submissions, Resource Pages |
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Other Content Types: | Press Releases, In The Media, Presentations, Posts, , Key Issues |
NGOs: | Al-Haq |
Start date: | 1 Jan 1988 |
End date: | 25 Mar 2019 |
Professor Gerald M. Steinberg discusses how Canada is vital in providing a new agenda for the UN.
Professor Gerald M. Steinberg writes about UN-OCHA's propaganda war against Israel.
In response to NGO Monitor’s research on government funding for civil society organizations, OmVärlden, an online magazine owned by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, published today twelve articles making numerous false accusations about NGO Monitor.
The 38th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (June 18 – July 6, 2018) continued the bias and hypocrisy that has come to define the UN in general and the UNHRC in particular. NGO Monitor staff was present, speaking before the Council and documenting the numerous false accusations from member states and NGOs.
In the post 9/11 world, the issues of funding for terrorist organizations via Islamic charities and non-profits (as well as other sources) has received vast attention from global law enforcement and security agencies, as well as from scholars and other policy researchers. This paper attempts to shed light on a related but less explored phenomenon of Israeli, Palestinian, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, that receive international government support and have ties to terrorist organizations. This financial support provides NGOs with legitimacy to continue operating despite their terror connections.
Several French-funded NGOs involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict use the facade of human rights and international law to blur the lines between “peaceful” and “nonviolent” campaigns and violent “resistance” including attacks against civilians. By exploiting the language of human rights and by working together in a tight network, these groups are able to amplify their claims, garner undue exposure, and gain legitimacy for their radical ideologies.
From April 29 – May 6, 2018, the Center for Constitutional Rights led a trip to Israel and the West Bank labeled as the “Justice Delegation.” This trip, made up of self-proclaimed social justice advocates, claimed to provide a “better understand[ing of] the human rights situation in Israel and Palestine.” In sharp contrast, participants met exclusively Palestinian and Israeli organizations that promote a one-sided Palestinian narrative of the conflict.
On May 28, 2018, Human Rights Watch issued yet another publication targeting Israeli banks. These materials are part of HRW’s continuing role in a broader BDS campaign to damage Israel’s economy through the financial sector.
On May 18, 2018, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) held a “special session of the Human Rights Council on the deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.” Many of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that participated in the session condemned Israel for allegedly committing “war crimes” and denied the legitimacy of Israel’s right to self-defense.
In advance of the 37th Council session (February 26 - March 23, 2018), the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has released a report on the “BDS blacklist” of companies that do business with Israelis over the 1949 Armistice Line. The report, submitted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, provides important details on the flawed process and the difficulties inherent in creating a list of companies to be targeted by this form of BDS.