UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : OHCHR-Special Procedures - Press conference: Attacks against the UN system

Good afternoon, everyone and thank you for joining us.

Today's press briefing will be on the attacks against the UN system, special procedures and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian territories.

We will have 5 special procedures experts briefing today.

So let me introduce the Mall very quickly and we can then get started.

On the podium today we have Mr Nicola Levra, Special Rapporteur on minority issues, and Mr Richard Bennett.

Next to him, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan.

Speaking to you remotely today will be Mr George Kathrugalos, independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Miss Fernanda Oppenheim, member of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, and Miss Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

We, each of the speakers today will have brief opening remarks, after which we will open the floor for questions.

We'll begin with opening remarks by the Special Rapporteur, Minority issues.

Mr Labra, you have the floor.

Thank you very much and thank you for being here.

The media officer tells me that it is unusual to have 5 speakers for one press conference.

OK, true, but we are five of us, but with only one message.

This is not only one special rapporteur on one specific issue that is at stake today.

It is the whole UN human rights architecture that is under attack.

This UN human rights architecture is built on nine major human rights treaties, each monitored by a treaty body.

It is also built on the Human Rights Council universal procedure, periodical review and for all those aspects that are not covered by these two mechanism, it is built on special procedures, that is some 80 independent experts each directly mandated by the Human Rights Council.

That makes us Human Rights Council mandate holders independent, then give us the possibility to raise our voices when need arise like today.

This also makes us very fragile.

We do not work for government or an institution, but for the cause of human rights.

That probably makes us the keystones of this UN human rights architecture.

But for Keystone to hold its place, it needs strong pillars below the UN as an institution on the one side, member states championing human rights and respect for international law on the other.

But under the bold and frontal attacks led by one state that was created following UN decisions, Israel, and one which was create, which created the UN, the USA, we do not feel that the pillars are very strong.

It is not the first time that mandate holders come under attack.

In the 80s and 90s, two cases were brought by the UN General Assembly to the International Court of Justice for advisory opinion.

In both cases, the immediate support from the UN to the attack special reporters is very clearly documented.

[Other language spoken]

And if the UN itself is not very courageous, we also see cracks appearing in the other pillar.

This past week we've heard some states that present themselves as champions of human rights, calling from one of us, Francesca Albanese, to resign from her mandate.

Are those states, European states, accomplices to the destruction project led by the USA and Israel?

[Other language spoken]

They don't understand.

It is not only one of us, thus all of us, special procedures, men at order, who is under attack.

It is the whole fragile edifice for the protection of human rights and respect of human dignity that is being put at risk by this cowardly and irresponsible behaviours.

We call today all those individual civil society organisations, state international civil servants of all ranks to raise their voices and defend the very substance of human rights as we are doing here now.

Thank you, thank you, Mr Levre, our next speaker will be joining us remotely.

Mr George Kathrugalos, you have the floor.

Many thanks for that.

The Secretary generally General recently state that 2006 to 26 is already saved to be a year of crisis and couch this assessment is regrettably accurate.

Numerous crises and protected conflicts continue to rage across the world, from Sudan to Ukraine.

Still, the the new American administration through the Secretary of State has already declared officially that quote.

The international order is not just obsolete, it's now a weapon being used against us.

President Trump has already bombed 7 countries.

He bows an illegal naval ploy gate on Cuba and Venezuela, invaded the latter and threatens to do the same with Iran.

Yet the Ground Zero for international legality remains Gaza.

We have witnessed an ongoing genocide before the eyes of the entire world with 10s of thousands of civilian deaths, the vast majority of them women and children.

This tragedy has been accompanied by a full-fledged attack against the United Nations itself.

The Secretary General, in a historically unprecedented way, has been declared persona no grata by Israel.

Urrah has been repeatedly targeted, even physically, and the Israeli Prime Minister has referred to the United Nations as a House of darkness and a swamp of anti-Semitism.

And instead of unequivocally condemning these attacks on their national legality, some European foreign ministers choose to shoot the messenger.

Rather than defending Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese over the face of unlawful American sanctions, which has which have now been extended to a former EU commissioner, they called for her resignation.

And on what grounds?

Inevitably docked or video circulated by notorious Gongo that has previously targeted numerous special procedures mandate holders, the Coordinated Committee of the Special Procedures, speaking for all of us, has rightly condemned this disgraceful campaign.

It is encouraging both for the truth and for the integrity of the United Nations system that several European foreign ministers have since detracted their attacks against Francesca Albanese.

But now it is the time to defend the United Nations against new and old threats.

We have now a clear effort to sideline the United Nations by the establishment of the so-called world of peace, which clearly goes beyond the related decision of the Security Council.

Even an agency of the United Nations, the World Bank, participated in its first session and promised its economic support.

It is clear what are our obligations now?

Defend the United Nations Charter, oppose or moves against it, Condemn the blockade against Cuba and Venezuela, Prevent a new war in Iran, defend the right of self determination of the Palestinians.

This is the task of our generation to not let replace the right by might.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for that, Mister Casarellis.

We will now hear from the working group member from the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, Miss Fernanda Oppenheim.

Miss Oppenheim, you have the flow.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

Good afternoon to everyone in Geneva and online, and thank you for this opportunity to share some thoughts.

As my colleagues have already mentioned, we come here today as independent human rights mandate holders and together we form one of the pillars of the human rights systems at the UN.

We remain a key source of data and analysis for Member States and all other stakeholders.

We do this, by the way unpaid job because we believe in human rights and in an international system that protects the persons and the planet.

Now more than ever, the human rights system is desperately needed.

Treaty bodies and special procedures together jointly work to guarantee human rights are respected for all.

Playground violations of the UN Charter and international law are a threat to us all.

Defunding the UN as a whole and the human rights systems in particular, has put us in a very difficult position to fulfil our important tasks.

Attacks to the special procedures in particular have increased in the last months.

Refusal to collaborate, smear campaigns and sanctions as the ones imposed on our fellow mandate holders, Special Reporter Francesca Banesi, are not only illegal but dangerous and highly concerning.

They also aim to destruct us from the essential work that we need to be doing as special procedures.

Mandate holders were sent together with Francesca and together as part of this very complex, yes, yet utterly important system collectively built through 8 decades of efforts.

We call on States to fulfil their human rights obligations under international law and to refrain from attacking the UN in general and independent experts in particular.

And we also call on private actors, including businesses, investors and other organisations to fulfil the responsibility to respect human rights, which includes, of course, content moderation with hate speeches are disseminated, which includes providing financial services when illegal sanctions are administered or imposed, and not to be complicit in human rights violations, and of course, willingly cooperate with special procedures.

We remain at your disposal for discussion.

And I thank you all very much for being here today.

[Other language spoken]

We'll now hear from the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, Mr Bennett to have the floor.

[Other language spoken]

Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks especially to members of the press for coming.

I'm here in solidarity with my colleagues and to stand up for the international human rights system and special procedures.

In particular, States established the Special Special Procedure System in order to receive independent and impartial information and advice on thematic and country specific right human rights violations, putting victims and survivors first.

My own mandate on Afghanistan specifically requires me to be survivor centred and I continue to appreciate the support of Council members for that and it's what I consider should be our starting point, a survivor and victim centred frame of reference.

At times States and others may not agree with with reports and statements by special procedures mandate holders.

In fact, they may strongly disagree and are fully entitled to express those disagreements forcefully.

However, deliberately misrepresenting the statements or views of mandate holders and attacking them personally is beyond the pale.

International sanctions are for human rights violators and criminals, not for human rights defenders.

The sanctions and other attacks against my colleague Francesca Albanese, including calls for her resignation, must stop now.

If there are complaints, by all means make them through the established channels that the Human Rights Council has approved.

I remind you, as my colleague Fernanda has mentioned, we the UNUNS independent experts serve without pay.

There are guard rails to address concerning behaviours or statements and the council approved Code of Conduct, Conduct and Coordinating Committee that includes A disciplinary function if needed.

I'm sure we all want high quality independent experts in the UN system and I'm concerned that false information in illegitimate attacks, including but not only on Miss Albanese, are likely to discourage the best candidates for applying for what is a demanding and unpaid responsibility.

The system will be undermined and eroded.

Not only the special procedure system, but the entire human rights architecture will suffer.

So I call for an immediate return to acceptable behaviour where fair, fair criticism does not descend into personalised vendettas.

Thank you, thank you, Mr Bennett, and finally, we will hear from the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Miss Francesca Albanese, who's online.

Miss Albanese, you have the flow.

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you all in Geneva and the connected remotely.

[Other language spoken]

This is a very important press briefing and thank you, OHCHR colleagues and fellow special rapporteurs, independent experts, for being present to those who are following us.

Silence is not an option and neither for me nor for my colleagues, and raising our our voice is an integral part of our mandate.

As UN expert, I am currently in Jordan.

In principle, I should be in Palestine, in the occupied Palestinian territory, but because of the of the restrictions and the obstacles that Israel as an unlawful occupier imposes on on me and others, I am.

I'm just grateful to the Jordanian government and the people I've met these days for the support they extended my my mandate.

I want to start by saying, before delving into the sanctions, that is not easy for me to be with you today after an intense and painful weeks spent speaking with survivors of torture victims and their lawyers in preparation for my forthcoming report to the Human Rights Council.

The testimonies I've collected are have been harrowing and I look forward to presenting my findings to you next month because they are inflicted upon the Palestinian people evoked some of the darkest chapters associated with authoritarian rule belonging to the would have hoped to the past century.

I remain struck by the limited outrage expressed by much of the international community.

I welcome, I welcome and I continue to welcome the return of Israeli hostages to their families, but we must also confront the situation of Palestinians detainees.

There are nearly 10,000 today in Israeli Jains, and these are trapped in the Israeli network web.

They are hostages of an unlawful occupation held in brutal conditions.

And I will address this in greater detail detail when I'm in Geneva.

However, the overall situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is catastrophic.

In Gaza, where families survive in flooded tents while people continue to die from gunfire called the hunger and preventable diseases and someone has the audacity of calling it ceasefire.

And meanwhile, in the West Bank, including E Jerusalem, conditions continue to deteriorate.

Policies aimed at consolidating an unlawful annexation that was announced, that was announced by the this government, this coalition government in February 2023 and have raised the alarm multiple times, including with the Secretary general.

These policies are aimed at further displacing the Palestinians.

Permanent for displacement, permanent population change, population shift that.

This is also what the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Folker Turk has has been denouncing recently.

So in the middle of all these, I can tell you how toxic and personally damaging for me and for my family this past days, weeks and months have been.

This smears the sanctions, the continuous, the continuous attacks from all over, from those very states who should use that energy as stamina to go after those who are accused by the highest court in the world of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

So here I wish to express really my heartfelt gratitude to the colleagues within the UN system.

First and foremost Special rapporteurs, independent experts and working groups who have been with me steadily from the very beginning.

The Coordinating Committee of Special Procedures and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as Member States like the members of the oh I see in particular, who have recently strongly and swiftly, swiftly defended my my mandate from the attacks emanating from some European countries.

The measures I want to refer to the sanctions.

Now the the sanctions against me form a part of a broader strategy associated with the current US administration, which is aiming at weakening international accountability mechanisms and more broadly, as has been, has been said already, the rule of law system that we have built over the past eight years, replacing it with a revived, militarised and financially empowered form of neo colonial domination.

And it's particularly concerning the targeting of those who seek accountability, the judges of the judges and protic executors of the International Criminal Court, myself as AUN mandate holders and Palestinian civil society organisations.

Because look at what keeps us together.

The three of us are doing not nothing more, nothing else than seeking accountability for victims.

Securing the revocations of the sanctions against me, against the ICC judges and and prosecutors and against poor Palestinian NGOs and of the executive and the and and the reconsideration of the executive order from which the Yemeni is not a personal matter.

It is a shared interest for all who believe in international law, accountability and the world governed by rules and not by force or by bullying.

So, faced with this rapture, we must name it clearly and move beyond it toward at what I call more and more and decolonized multilateralism grounded in equality, in accountability, and in the universal application of international law.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you Miss Albanese.

The experts will now ask questions.

Please state your name and organisation before asking a question and since we have several speakers, we'd be grateful if you could indicate to which expert your question is directed.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you so much Jeremy Launch for the French Public Radio.

[Other language spoken]

I would ask them in English and if you may answer for those who may in French, they'd be happy to, but it's for all of you.

First on, on the, on the declaration by the minister of not the ministry, but the the French ambassador earlier this week at the Human Rights Council.

I'd like to know what were your reaction when you listen to to the ambassador saying something about, about you Miss Albanese, but not this time asking for your resignation.

So your, your first reaction when you hear that and more broader question for for you, all of you considering this, this, this context for special procedures holders, do you consider that today it is easier for you to work in countries like for instance Syria than working in environment like the US and European countries?

Miss Albanese, will you take the question first?

[Other language spoken]

Actually, I do not have much to say because yeah, I've heard about the comments of the French ambassador.

It seems that the French diplomacy has changed its mind.

Would would be nice if they added also a word of apology, considering the smear campaign that have been part to.

But also let me take this opportunity to, to make a comment about the sources that Italian, French and German diplomacy has relied upon.

It's it's past the time that we hold accountable the organisations that from within from within the UN system profiting of their ECOSOC status, fabricate defamations against me, against us, against any rapporteur, any special rapporteur or any event, an expert, the Office of the Commissioner, the Commission of Inquiry, anyone who dares scrutinising Israel, accusing us of anti-Semitism, accusing us of supporting terrorists.

These actors need to be held accountable because what I mean clearly they have they have provided false information that the French diplomats and others or the French minister and others have relied upon, which is already disconcerting.

But however, I mean the the question is that here it is to be clear once and for all that the human rights system and the human rights movement that global is forming for just based in Palestine has nothing to do with what Israel is And professors as a religion is about what Israel does as a state and its continuous violations of international law, including International Criminal law.

[Other language spoken]

Do any of the other experts want to weigh in on Jeremy's questions?

[Other language spoken]

If I may miss Albanese, if you could just answer of Francais for for pose party.

That's just what have attraction of Francais.

[Other language spoken]

The clarification, the excuse, the unacceptable.

The.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you, Mr Levra.

We'll also weigh in on that question, Jeremy.

The condition.

The manipulation.

Of course, the technology.

[Other language spoken]

Miss Oppenheim also has an intervention.

[Other language spoken]

Are there any other questions for the experts online?

I don't see any hands online.

Do any of the experts want to say anything further?

Anybody online miss have anything?

No, it's very sorry.

[Other language spoken]

No, it's very interesting to be in a press conference with journalists who do not ask questions.

Another interesting sign of the time we are in.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for those.

Are there.

[Other language spoken]

If there are no further questions, we will then close this press conference.

If anybody would like the opening remarks by any of the experts, please let us know and we can make those available.

Thank you all for joining us.

Have a good afternoon.