Amuta for NGO Responsibility: Item 7 Interactive Dialogue - Oral Statement

Summary

Thank you, Mr. President,

At the time of his appointment in 2016, the Canadian government expressed concerns about Special Rapporteur Lynk’s “suitability and impartiality”.

His latest report to the Council proves why Canada was so disturbed by this appointment.  Like his other reports, this effort is simply a cut and paste of false and unverified claims largely sourced to BDS organizations and NGOs with close ties to terror groups, without disclosing these conflicts of interest. Shamefully, the report also invokes antisemitic canards.

This is not surprising. In the past year, despite the claim that that the Special Rapporteur seeks “open dialogue”, he has appeared around the world at events sponsored by BDS groups and terror-linked organizations. He has made no effort to reach out to mainstream civil society.

Much of the Special Rapporteur’s report relies on false and thoroughly debunked claims from groups closely associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization.

This would not be the first time that the Special Rapporteur’s reports have elevated violent actors. Last year, his report labeled as a human rights defender a woman that promoted Nazi-style antisemitism and murder of Jews on social media. It was so egregious that OHCHR removed her from the report. That the Special Rapporteur would collaborate and bolster such organizations and individuals is the complete antithesis of human rights.

The report’s comments on Gaza are similarly tainted. There is no mention of the hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid stolen by Hamas. The report glosses over the Palestinian infighting responsible for the health crisis.

Most disturbingly, the Special Rapporteur’s report has an antisemitic tinge. It calls Israeli presence in the region avaricious, pathological, and rapacious, crudely resorting to bigotry as the complexities of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the thousands of years of Jewish history are erased.

Mr. President,

The Special Rapporteur’s report represents the very worst of the Council, spreading false information, propping up violent and extremist actors, and utilizing antisemitic tropes.  Canada was right to be concerned by this appointment in 2016 and those concerns remain today.