Transcript [00:00] Good morning to you all. [00:02] Um distinguished guests, my lords, and [00:04] my friends, basically. It's just This is [00:06] a great way to start a Monday, to be [00:08] among such esteemed company and [00:11] supporters. Um really giving support to [00:15] our friends at UN Watch. So, thank you [00:17] for everything you do. [00:19] Um and thank you for joining us today. [00:21] Um it won't surprise any of you. I've [00:23] got quite a bit to say [00:25] um about not just this report, but the [00:27] United Nations per se. So, [00:31] um and let's just be very frank and [00:32] honest. In this ever-changing world that [00:35] we are living in, [00:37] you know, the United Nations should be [00:39] really fulfilling its mandate fully and [00:41] properly. And even that term is quite [00:43] contentious. But instead, it's allowed [00:46] itself to become subject to [00:48] lawfare, bias, prejudice, [00:51] um and it's basically now creating [00:54] tensions and division. And it's [00:55] basically allowed the wrong type of [00:57] people and organization and funding [00:59] streams to almost in in [01:02] you know, infest its way of work. They [01:04] become wholly unaccountable. [01:06] And as much as my language is quite [01:08] strong right now, I can say this for [01:09] good reasons because I've actually had [01:10] lots of experience of working with them [01:12] and alongside them. Um as you know, a [01:15] decade ago, I was a Secretary of State [01:17] for International Development, where I [01:19] became aware of some of the most [01:21] appalling practices under the watch of [01:23] the United Nations. Um so, for example, [01:26] I was aware of evidence, allegations of [01:29] sexual abuse and exploitation in the aid [01:31] sector. It was absolutely abhorrent. I [01:35] spoke out and pushed for reform, and [01:37] there were good people that listened and [01:40] engaged on this. But the majority did [01:43] not. [01:44] In fact, there was a lot of [01:45] institutional resistance even within the [01:47] United Nations. With criticism not going [01:51] to the UN and its agencies, but being [01:53] directed to me [01:54] um literally in government for speaking [01:57] out, rather than there being a firm [01:59] focus to address these types of issues [02:02] and concerns. And when I wanted to [02:04] ensure that British taxpayers money [02:06] would fund aid and charities with robust [02:09] and transparent governance process in [02:12] place, you know, to root out a lot of [02:15] the terrible practices that were going [02:16] on. Guess what? I was also criticized [02:18] and people tried to silence me. Women [02:21] and children were exploited and some [02:22] staff working for UN charities and the [02:25] United Nations were being harassed and [02:27] abused. All of this was wrong and every [02:30] time we chose to speak out, there was [02:32] just a culture of cover-up and [02:34] resistance. [02:35] Um and I just have to say now, when we [02:37] look, and this is part of the reason why [02:39] we're here today, how the United Nations [02:42] has responded to the conflict in the [02:43] Middle East, we have one of the most [02:46] complex and dangerous and difficult [02:48] conflicts taking place in the world and [02:50] yet the UN quite frankly has behaved [02:53] atrociously. We have Israel, the world's [02:55] only Jewish state and the only liberal [02:57] democracy in the region, a country that [03:00] practices open, free, and fair [03:02] elections, has an independent judiciary, [03:04] embraces free speech and free media, has [03:06] checks and balances on its political [03:08] institutions, facing what can only be [03:11] described as a torrent of criticisms, [03:14] investigations, [03:15] and politically motivated attacks on it [03:19] through the United Nations. While the [03:22] states perpetuating appalling serious [03:24] human rights abuses around the world are [03:26] never censured or censored in any way or [03:30] even criticized. So, let me just share [03:31] this with you. Since 2015, Israel has [03:35] been on the receiving end of 187 [03:38] motions condemning them at the United [03:42] Nations General Assembly. [03:44] That's 17 a year or one every 3 weeks. [03:49] These motions condemn in country that is [03:51] surrounded by terrorist threats and [03:53] organizations and violent terrorist [03:55] groups who seek its eradication. A [03:58] country that that just 3 years ago [04:00] experienced one of the most shocking and [04:02] abhorrent terrorist attacks seen on the [04:05] 7th of October. [04:07] A country which has used its own [04:08] intelligence services and information to [04:11] quite frankly keep the rest of us safe. [04:14] And yet when it comes to China, a [04:16] country that systematically abuses human [04:18] rights non-end and breaches [04:19] international law and threatens our [04:20] security. Since 2015 there's not been a [04:23] single motion at the UN General Assembly [04:26] condemning them. Iran and North Korea [04:28] have faced just 11 motions. So I think [04:32] we're at this sort of crucial stage now [04:33] my friends. How on earth can the UN [04:35] claim to have credibility resolving [04:37] conflicts and promoting peace when you [04:39] see how it responds to the Middle East? [04:42] And of course it's not just when it [04:43] comes to passing motions that the UN has [04:45] failed to act responsibly and [04:47] proportionately. [04:49] It's actually the way these institutions [04:52] and its people operate. And this is [04:55] where our friends in UN Watch have so [04:57] much credit, deserve so much credit for [05:00] highlighting how the UN is really not [05:03] functioning. And the report earlier this [05:06] year exposing what I can only describe [05:08] as the double standards, the hypocrisy, [05:12] the bias and the conflict of interest of [05:15] UN special rapporteurs they've made is [05:18] really compelling reading. And as you've [05:20] got the report here today, the report [05:22] has highlighted the pervasive pervasive [05:25] pattern of anti-Western ideological bias [05:29] amongst numerous UN special procedures [05:32] mandate holders, that term mandate [05:34] holders needs dissecting in its own [05:36] right. Marked by hostility towards [05:40] democratic states and the routine [05:42] minimization or downplaying of abuses by [05:44] authoritarian regimes. [05:46] It's highlighted the way that special [05:48] rapporteurs demonize Israel [05:51] um such as the language used by the [05:53] rapporteur on the right to food um [05:56] Michael um Fakhri who ignored the [05:59] deliberate starvation of hostages held [06:01] by Hamas. [06:03] And how this network of unaccountable [06:05] individuals give succor [06:08] I don't like that term, but they give [06:10] succor to terrorist regimes and the [06:13] enemies of the West with their rhetoric [06:16] and their awful reports. [06:19] There's Irene Khan, another one uh [06:22] special rapporteur for freedom of [06:24] expression who made very vocal in [06:26] criticizing Western governments. There's [06:29] Ben Saul, the special rapporteur on [06:31] human rights while countering terrorism [06:33] who has [clears throat] defended [06:35] Palestine action while opposing the US [06:38] designating the Houthis as terrorists. [06:41] Um defended [06:43] Albanese. I don't really need to say [06:45] much more there. We all know about that [06:48] um her role defending UNRWA [06:51] and objects to the IHRA definition of [06:54] anti-Semitism. And we're going to talk [06:56] about a lot of this already. [06:58] So, to our friends and you know I will [07:01] always call you our friends at UN Watch. [07:04] We are in a debt of gratitude to them [07:06] for shining what I call it's not just a [07:09] spotlight. I would say it's more than [07:11] that. It's a full beam really that we [07:13] need um when it comes to demonstrating [07:17] the true facts. Speaking truth to power [07:19] if I may say so. For exposing the links [07:23] between Hamas terrorists and UNRWA, just [07:25] that's one example. Your research is so [07:28] detailed. We've spoken many, many times [07:31] about this. But also the way in which [07:33] you've exposed the pro-Hamas narratives [07:36] um that have been out there. But also [07:39] the way in in these organizations are [07:41] receiving funds. [07:43] And I genuinely say this, this has now [07:46] led to the wide-scale abuse of the term [07:48] humanitarian funds and humanitarian [07:51] funding. [07:52] And while the report card on UNRWA [07:54] reform that was published last month [07:56] really has given a tremendous insight [07:59] into how biased rhetoric [08:03] and all sorts of, you know, [08:04] manipulation, I think is the word to [08:07] use, is has taken place. It's definitely [08:10] not matched by reform or delivery. So, [08:13] today is a very important [08:16] session and a dialogue that we're going [08:18] to have here. A unique opportunity [08:21] to hear directly [08:23] from our friends here. And I'm very [08:25] grateful to you. This is [08:27] We have copies of the report here. It's [08:30] also online. But I can't begin to share [08:32] with you how powerful this is when we [08:35] think about the level of subversion that [08:38] is taking place through UN organizations [08:43] that we, by the way, are all paying for. [08:46] I don't even think government ministers [08:48] in the current government or even [08:50] previous government understand the [08:51] extent to which we are funding [08:54] such permissive activity that is [08:56] undermining our democratic values. So, [08:59] you know, thank you for coming here [09:01] today. Thank you for joining us. And I'm [09:03] going to now hand over to our friends [09:05] really to make make their own [09:06] introductions [clears throat] [09:07] and to get stuck in really with the [09:10] important information you're sharing [09:11] with us today. Well, thank you. [09:14] >> Thank you so much. [09:16] >> [clears throat] [09:17] >> I'm very grateful to the right honorable [09:19] Dame Priti Patel [09:21] for her powerful remarks and indeed for [09:23] hosting us in this important event here [09:26] in the British Parliament. [09:27] And far more for being such a staunch [09:31] advocate [09:32] year-round for the principle of hold [09:36] holding the United Nations accountable [09:38] to its own founding principles. I recall [09:41] in April of this year when the Islamic [09:43] Republic of Iran found itself elected by [09:46] consensus [09:48] to a United Nations body that deals with [09:52] budget and priorities for women's [09:54] rights, [09:55] peacekeeping, counterterrorism, and [09:57] human rights, the first person to speak [10:00] out was the right honorable Dame Priti [10:02] Patel. [10:03] And uh all I can say is that if we had [10:05] more such principled and courageous [10:08] voices when when it comes to United [10:10] Nations, we would be in a much better [10:12] place. [10:13] Thank you. [10:14] Um [10:16] I'm very grateful to the Lords who are [10:17] here, the lawmakers. Uh it means a great [10:19] deal. And for our friends from UN Watch [10:22] who are here today, it means a lot. Uh I [10:24] wish to thank Sonya Svedunyuk from the [10:27] office of Kemi Badenoch, leader of the [10:30] opposition, for her indispensable help [10:33] in organizing today's event. [10:36] >> [clears throat] [10:36] >> Finally, I thank my colleagues Daniel [10:37] Rodomski and Louis Peláez for their [10:39] essential role in today's presentation. [10:42] Um look, today we've come here to [10:44] present our recent report on what Kofi [10:48] Annan, the former Secretary-General, [10:50] called the crown jewels of the UN human [10:54] rights system. And it is timely to speak [10:57] of the United Nations human rights [10:58] system because bless you because uh it [11:01] was just barely a week ago when the uh [11:04] our friends in Oslo from the Nobel Peace [11:06] Prize Committee decided to give this [11:09] year's award to Navi Pillay, who for [11:12] many years was the High Commissioner of [11:15] the UN human rights system. She oversaw [11:18] the system about which we're speaking [11:19] today. [11:21] And um [11:22] you know, I thought of her this past [11:24] weekend. Uh we're based in Geneva, which [11:26] is next door to France. [11:28] Uh this weekend France has been burning. [11:29] It's It's fire across the entire [11:31] country. You saw it uh [11:34] in the videos. Uh Limoges, the town hall [11:38] was virtually burned down. It's a [11:40] historic building, and you saw fires [11:42] in Paris, Marseille, [11:44] uh Lyon, uh and really across the [11:47] country. And it reminded me that [11:50] uh and a part of this, of course, [11:52] there's an alliance between the radical [11:54] left, which is Mélenchon, who was [11:56] stoking the flames, and Islamists. And [12:00] uh Navi Pillay in 2012, when there was [12:03] attacks uh uh citing the cartoons of [12:08] Muhammad of Charlie uh Hebdo magazine in [12:11] France, her response was not to defend [12:14] freedom of expression, but was rather to [12:16] attack the journalists. She accused them [12:18] of being deliberately malicious and [12:21] provocative. Okay, this is before the [12:24] murder of the journalists, but when [12:25] there were already attacks against [12:26] Western diplomatic missions, that was [12:28] her response was to was to defend the [12:30] protesters and to encourage them. And of [12:33] course, they gave her the Nobel Prize [12:35] because last year uh she chaired a [12:37] commission that uh accused Israel of [12:40] genocide. [12:41] Um that report was widely debunked, but [12:44] that was the main reason. And of course, [12:46] that also is fueling the Islamists. You [12:49] saw them in many of the marches. They [12:51] didn't have the flag of France. They had [12:52] the flag of Palestine. [12:55] Um you know, uh President Macron was [12:58] very proud a year ago that he recognized [13:00] the state of Palestine. Well, President [13:02] Macron, it seems like you've got it. Um [13:05] and um [13:06] so let's come to to today's topic. The [13:09] The crown jewels, as Kofi Annan called [13:11] it, the the UN human rights experts, [13:14] known often as special rapporteurs, [13:16] independent experts. [13:18] Um there's about 60 different mandates. [13:21] Uh there's a mandate on freedom of [13:23] expression, freedom of religion, freedom [13:25] of assembly, on particular countries. Uh [13:27] number of them do very good work. You [13:29] know, I didn't come here today say that [13:30] we have to throw out the whole system [13:32] and it's all rotten. That would be [13:34] rather simple. It's more complex. [13:36] There are a number of these mandates do [13:38] important work. Actually, there's a [13:40] interesting [13:42] article today by one of the UN experts [13:46] who does do good work. She just retired. [13:48] Her name is Dr. Alice Jill Edwards and [13:51] she was the special rapporteur on [13:52] torture, very important mandate, one of [13:55] the historic mandates to call out [13:57] regimes that commit torture and to try [13:59] to visit those countries that otherwise [14:01] have no independent checks and balances, [14:04] that don't have an independent [14:06] judiciary, [14:07] that don't have free press and to visit [14:10] those countries. Many of them don't [14:11] allow the visits. You have this paradox [14:14] where most of the [14:17] reports that you read are calling out [14:19] democracies cuz they're the ones who [14:21] open their doors to visits by these UN [14:23] human rights experts, whereas the Chinas [14:26] and the Russias and the Chaves and [14:27] Maduro Venezuela and the Cubas, they [14:30] don't allow them to visit. If they allow [14:31] anyone to visit, it would be the [14:33] rapporteurs who are [14:37] >> [clears throat] [14:37] >> the anti-western mandates that call [14:39] themselves human rights but are just [14:40] there to attack the West. [14:44] I'll mention them in a moment. So, today [14:45] there's an article in the Telegraph by [14:47] Dr. Edwards who did very important work [14:50] as the UN rapporteur on torture and [14:53] sadly those mandates have been [14:56] diluted and their reputation has been [14:59] tarnished by some of the others that you [15:01] heard about from our chair today and [15:03] that which I'll document in a moment. [15:06] So, if we care about the UN human rights [15:08] system and our organization UN Watch was [15:11] founded in 1993 in Geneva by a great [15:15] American named Morris Abram. He was a [15:17] civil rights leader who worked very [15:19] closely with with very closely with [15:21] Martin Luther King and in the 1960s [15:24] served as a UN human rights expert and [15:27] helped draft, I believe it was 1964, the [15:30] convention against the elimination of [15:31] racial discrimination. So, the UN's [15:33] founding anti-racism treaty was drafted [15:36] by the founder of our organization. The [15:39] UN human rights system should work [15:41] properly and should defend real victims. [15:43] It should not become a tool by [15:46] anti-Western dictatorships. That's what [15:48] we'd like to see. So, [15:50] a few words about the special [15:53] procedures. You know, today we're going [15:54] to document perhaps [15:56] half a dozen or a dozen of these UN [15:59] experts who are abusing their mandates, [16:02] but it's not something new. [16:03] If you go back 25 years ago, the UN [16:06] appointed a [16:08] human rights council in Geneva appointed [16:10] a special rapporteur on the right to [16:12] food, which sounds like a noble purpose. [16:15] There are are hundreds of millions of [16:17] hungry people in the world, but they [16:19] appointed someone named Jean Ziegler. [16:22] For those of you who may recall, he was [16:24] a Swiss far-left socialist. You could [16:26] say the Mélenchon of Switzerland. [16:30] And [16:31] when when he was appointed in 2000, this [16:34] is [16:36] a decade after [16:38] he had created the Muammar Gaddafi Human [16:41] Rights Prize. I'll I'll say that again. [16:44] The Muammar Gaddafi Human Rights Prize. [16:46] There are some young people here who may [16:48] not even know who Gaddafi was, but he [16:50] was one of the most brutal dictators in [16:52] the past half century. [16:55] And in 1989, after the Lockerbie bombing [16:59] attributed to Libyan agents, he for [17:02] propaganda reasons gave $10 million and [17:04] Jean Ziegler, the socialist in [17:06] Switzerland, announced in Geneva the [17:08] creation of the Muammar Gaddafi Human [17:10] Rights Prize with a straight face and [17:12] said, "Don't worry, it's been deposited [17:14] in the Swiss account and I'm involved in [17:15] managing the prize." In the year 2000 [17:17] Who was the prize given to? In one year [17:20] it was given to um [17:23] uh [17:24] to Louis Farrakhan, the head of the [17:25] Nation of Islam, one of the most [17:27] anti-Semitic groups in America. One year [17:29] it was given to the uh Venezuelan [17:31] dictator Hugo Chávez. One year to Fidel [17:33] Castro. In 2002, the Gaddafi prize, [17:37] which was an annual prize given in [17:38] Libya, was given to uh Roger Garaudy, [17:42] convicted French Holocaust denier, and [17:45] to Jean Ziegler himself. Okay? Jean [17:48] Ziegler, as a UN special rapporteur, [17:50] flew to uh Tripoli uh and received the [17:54] Gaddafi prize. He denied it, but [17:55] eventually we found video of him [17:57] receiving the Gaddafi prize. [17:59] Um so this was a UN human rights expert, [18:02] probably the most well-known one uh [18:04] uh in the 2000s and served for many, [18:06] many years as a UN human rights expert. [18:08] So the issue is not new, but it's gotten [18:11] way out of control. And one of the [18:12] reasons is social media. Someone like [18:14] Jean Ziegler in the year 2005, when he [18:17] was In the year 2003, the only country [18:19] he visited in the world as the expert on [18:21] the right to food was the Palestinian [18:23] territories. Um he didn't visit Yemen, [18:26] where 60% of the people were starving, [18:28] or Ethiopia. Um he visited [18:30] Palestinian territories. He said Israel [18:32] is starving Palestinians. It's not a new [18:35] accusation. They were trying that in [18:37] 2003. He was applauded, and his 25-page [18:41] report, Israel is starving Palestinians, [18:43] is the only place he visited in the [18:45] world. Um [18:53] So [18:54] uh but that At that time he could make [18:57] one visit a year, issue a press release. [19:00] Uh today we have social media. Uh the [19:02] And so we have sort of his successor, uh [19:05] Francesca Albanese, um [19:08] who's He wasn't the UN expert on [19:09] Palestine, but but someone who was sort [19:11] of very mediatic and and uh you know, [19:15] relentless. There was no social media [19:17] back then, so he could issue a few [19:19] interviews, make a few interviews, issue [19:22] one or two annual reports, but now it's [19:24] every 5 minutes. So, and there is this [19:26] disconnect where the UN rapporteurs are [19:30] unique. [19:31] Because if a UN official, there are [19:35] maybe 10,000 or 20,000 UN employees [19:38] around the world. If one of them does [19:40] something horrible, in theory, you can [19:42] complain about it and the ambassador, [19:45] the British ambassador, the US [19:46] ambassador can pick up the phone and can [19:48] make a complaint and in some cases the [19:51] UN spokesman will say, you know, [19:53] we want to clarify that statement was [19:56] we don't stand by that statement. [19:57] Because every UN employee is ultimately [20:00] answerable to the Secretary-General. [20:02] Um, [20:03] but the rapporteurs are different. The [20:05] rapporteurs are not employees. They are [20:07] not paid. They can benefit for their [20:09] careers and they can sell books and it's [20:11] very prestigious for them and it's very [20:13] advantageous for them, but they're not [20:14] paid. They're not employees. They are [20:16] accountable to the legislative body, the [20:19] Human Rights Council, on which sits [20:21] China and Qatar and Cuba and several [20:24] democracies as well, but it's not a body [20:27] that can really hold anyone to account. [20:29] They have their own committee of their [20:31] peers, which is supposed to do some [20:33] oversight. [20:34] You will see in a moment who sits on [20:36] that committee and you'll understand [20:37] that the oversight is is laughable. [20:39] There's no oversight. So, you have this [20:41] strange disconnect where Reuters and [20:45] Associated Press and The Guardian will [20:47] say, UN expert says [20:50] and it's a person who legally only [20:52] represents herself or himself, is not [20:54] supposed to represent the UN as a whole, [20:56] but the the headline never has that [21:00] explanation attached. So, UN expert [21:02] says, Israel's committing genocide, Uh, [21:05] Britain [21:07] has [21:08] you know, a fifth of the population are [21:09] starving. [21:11] Gives some examples of some of the UN [21:13] experts who slammed Britain and the UK [21:16] and sorry and and the US. [21:18] Um, and they don't really explain what [21:21] the context is and there's no way to [21:23] hold them accountable in in practice. So [21:24] that's really the issue that we're [21:25] talking about today. Um, let me just go [21:28] through a few of the experts. Some of [21:29] them were mentioned but I'll I'll [21:31] mention [21:32] a handful of them. We'll start with Ben [21:33] Saul. Um, [21:37] So Ben Saul is a law professor at [21:40] Sydney, very prominent position in [21:42] Australia [21:43] and he's the UN special rapporteur on [21:45] counter-terrorism which means typically [21:47] it was done after 9/11. The assumption [21:50] is the Human Rights Council which as I [21:52] mentioned includes China and Qatar and [21:54] Cuba and Pakistan. The narrative was [21:56] that Western states are exaggerating [21:58] after 9/11 [22:00] in their counter-terrorism and so we [22:01] need to hold them to account. So human [22:03] rights and counter-terrorism. Okay, [22:05] we'll we'll accept the premise. You can [22:07] you you have to respect human rights [22:08] while countering terrorism. But his main [22:11] focus has been attacking Western states [22:14] and it's interesting that [22:17] something distinct. You see, he received [22:19] $150,000 from China. Okay, now I'm not [22:21] saying it went to his pocket to buy a [22:24] sports car but it went to his UN office. [22:27] But to be a UN human rights official and [22:29] to willingly accept $150,000 or a penny [22:33] from the Chinese Communist regime which [22:35] is oppressing the human rights of 1.5 [22:37] billion people, extinguished democracy [22:39] in Hong Kong, crushed temples in [22:43] Tibet, throws political prisoners in [22:45] prison right away just for for daring to [22:48] speak out, has a million Muslim Uyghurs [22:50] in camps taking off their beards, [22:52] destroying their religion and their [22:53] culture. And and he takes $150,000 [22:57] contribution for his mandate. And one of [22:59] the key issues that we're going to talk [23:00] about today and we have our report and a [23:03] bit later we'll show you our new online [23:05] database that we're releasing today here [23:08] in Parliament uh that we're launching [23:11] here in Parliament is a database that [23:13] shows that some very bizarre situation [23:16] where any country can specifically give [23:19] money to a rapporteur of their choice. [23:22] The equivalent would be if you have a [23:24] pet issue and you find a prosecutor and [23:27] you say here's a hundred thousand [23:28] dollars, I want you to prosecute this [23:30] person [23:31] or this type of category of person and [23:34] here's the money to do it. That would be [23:35] the equivalent which would be [23:37] unthinkable in a healthy system and [23:40] that's what's been going on at the UN. [23:42] In some cases it's Western democracies [23:44] giving them the money and so that's [23:46] still problematic, not as nefarious but [23:48] still problematic. [23:50] In other cases it's dictatorships, [23:52] China, Cuba, Qatar directly earmarking [23:55] funds to a UN investigator and saying we [23:57] want you to investigate this issue or [23:59] they don't have to say it, it's [24:00] understood. So our friend Ben Saul law [24:03] professor at Sydney um and there's a [24:05] major article came out [24:07] on him by Drew Pavlou on Substack today [24:10] because of emails that were released [24:12] about between him and the Chinese [24:13] Foreign Ministry. Okay, he visited the [24:15] Chinese mission in Geneva [24:17] in 2023, had a very close meeting with [24:19] them. [24:20] He goes to China a lot and the next year [24:22] they gave a hundred fifty thousand [24:23] dollars to his mandate and guess what? [24:26] He's the expert on combating um [24:29] those who violate human rights in [24:32] countering terrorism. In China when they [24:34] take the one million Uyghurs plus and [24:36] throw them into camps, they justify it [24:38] how? Counterterrorism. They say the [24:41] Uyghurs are doing terrorism, we are [24:43] countering terrorism. The one person the [24:45] United Nations has to speak out on this [24:47] issue is Ben Saul, not a word. Hasn't [24:50] said one word for the victims in China [24:53] and it so happens he's getting a hundred [24:54] fifty thousand dollars from China. I'll [24:57] just mention a few other words about [24:58] this gentleman Ben Saul. [25:00] He calls for repeatedly for the rest the [25:02] arrest of the US president and secretary [25:04] of war for mass murder. [25:07] When the US killed a senior Al-Qaeda [25:09] leader, he immediately said this is [25:10] unlawful. [25:12] He deemed the US drone strike on terror [25:15] mastermind IRGC terror mastermind Qassem [25:18] Soleimani that was illegal for him, [25:20] right? When the America designated the [25:22] terrorist Houthis as terrorists, he [25:24] criticized it. So this is someone who is [25:26] virulently anti-Western, prominent [25:29] position in Australia, crowned as a UN [25:31] human rights expert, taking $150,000 [25:33] from China, and the UN says nothing. [25:35] This is treated as standard practice. If [25:37] you ask the UN spokesman, he'll say [25:39] standard practice. Something is broken. [25:43] Okay? In March, Mr. Saul accused the [25:45] United States of naked aggression, [25:47] renewed imperialism against Iran and [25:50] Venezuela, while he praised Somalia [25:54] as a quote responsible state that is [25:57] committed to strengthening human rights. [26:01] That is Ben Saul. [26:02] Next, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng. [26:06] Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, for the past 6 [26:07] years, she was the UN expert on the [26:09] right to health. Health is an important [26:11] issue for [26:14] around the world for people around the [26:16] world. For 6 years, she was the UN [26:18] rapporteur for health. [26:20] And in reality, this is someone who one [26:23] of the most virulently [26:25] anti-Western, virulent anti-Western [26:27] ideologues that the UN had, someone [26:31] whose conduct was extremely [26:34] inappropriate to put it mildly. Even as [26:37] she transitioned out of her position, [26:39] she was still a UN expert, she declared [26:41] herself a candidate for the mayor of [26:43] Johannesburg with a radical anti-white [26:47] party called the EFF in South Africa. [26:49] They sing songs called Kill the Boer, [26:51] kill the boer. And she is their [26:54] candidate for mayor. [26:57] She called the prime minister of this [26:59] country where she soon at filthy in [27:01] response to a tweet [27:03] dealing with illegal immigration. Her [27:05] response was to accuse the British prime [27:06] minister of being filthy. This is in [27:08] 2023. [27:11] She endorsed claims that the US is [27:12] occupying Haiti. She calls American [27:15] foreign aid neocolonialism. [27:17] She routinely accuses Israel of [27:19] genocide. [27:20] She says Hamas are not terrorists and [27:23] she endorses the legitimacy of armed [27:25] struggle. So you can't get more extreme [27:27] than this. [27:28] After October 7th, her response was to [27:31] justify the violence by Hamas saying [27:33] quote, you cannot extinguish the human [27:35] desire for freedom. [27:37] Meanwhile, [27:38] Dr. Mofokeng repeatedly turned a blind [27:40] eye to abuses by the world's worst [27:42] abusers, never condemned Cuba's [27:45] horrendous state-sponsored health system [27:48] and its practice of sending doctors to [27:49] work abroad to profit [clears throat] [27:51] the regime. [27:52] She venerates Cuba's Che Guevara [27:55] amplifying his claim that the US is the [27:56] perpetrator of exploitation and [27:59] oppression against the peoples of the [28:01] world. She refers to Che Guevara as [28:03] grandfather. So this is really a radical [28:05] ideologue. She's been criticized by [28:07] women's rights groups because [28:10] she defends prostitution as [28:13] as a legitimate form of work [28:16] and [28:18] she was condemned [28:20] by the South African health authority [28:22] because of her language. She called me [28:25] evil scum white man. She [28:28] used the F word against Israel's prime [28:30] minister and because she's still a a [28:33] doctor in South Africa, the health [28:35] authority [28:36] fined her 10,000 rand and condemned her. [28:40] Months later she managed to get that [28:42] overturned but [28:43] she was condemned by them in in a very [28:45] important uh So that's she just finished [28:48] her term and and no one said anything [28:50] about her and you could see who's [28:51] funding her. Uh she got $200,000 from [28:53] George Soros' Open Society and the Ford [28:55] Foundation in New York gave her a [28:58] million dollars, right? So, you have [28:59] major uh foundations which are uh [29:04] engaged in partisan advocacy funding [29:08] these supposedly impartial experts to [29:10] promote a very distinct uh far-left [29:14] agenda. [29:15] Uh I'll mention a couple of others. [29:16] Alena Douhan. [29:19] Um [29:21] Alena Douhan, she her first I heard [29:22] about her mandate. Okay, uh her mandate [29:25] is UN rapporteur on unilateral coercive [29:29] measures. What does that mean in [29:30] English? That's UN speak. Um the [29:34] dictatorships that I mentioned before, [29:35] China, Cuba, Qatar, they do not like [29:38] Western sanctions. [29:40] And one of the narratives at the UN is [29:42] that all of the world's ills are because [29:44] of Western sanctions on dictatorships. [29:47] So, they created a mandate called the UN [29:49] rapporteur on unilateral coercive [29:52] measures. That means any UK sanctions on [29:55] Russia are unilateral coercive measures [29:58] cuz they're not they're not supported by [30:01] the Security Council, which includes [30:02] Russia and China and therefore they're [30:03] unilateral. And so, all Western [30:05] sanctions are a violation of uh [30:07] international law and a violation of [30:09] human rights. That's the narrative. The [30:11] the world's worst regimes are victims of [30:14] human rights violations by these [30:16] sanctions. [30:17] And they created a full-time position [30:20] called the UN rapporteur uh on [30:22] unilateral coercive measures and some 6 [30:25] years ago they named Alena Douhan. She's [30:27] a professor in Belarus. [30:29] She works for the Belarus regime, which [30:31] is very close Lukashenko with Putin. [30:34] And she has been [30:35] uh unashamedly [30:37] uh pro-dictatorship and anti-Western. [30:40] She has flown to Zimbabwe and said that [30:43] Zimbabwe's dictator is a victim of [30:45] Western sanctions and so the regime is a [30:48] victim of international law, not the [30:51] political prisoners who we bring [30:53] regularly to the UN. Daniel tried to [30:56] help one of them. We had our Geneva [30:57] Summit. We had a an outspoken journalist [30:59] who spoke out against the regime. They [31:01] threw him in prison. He was afraid to go [31:02] back. She doesn't speak out for those [31:04] people. She speaks out for the regime. [31:06] She flew there, was welcomed by the [31:07] president of Zimbabwe and defended the [31:09] regime. Times of London had a whole [31:11] story on it, actually. She then flew to [31:13] Venezuela where she was hosted by Maduro [31:15] and she said Maduro is a victim of [31:17] Western sanctions. Uh and he used it [31:19] when he came to the General Assembly. He [31:20] said even the UN said we're the victim [31:23] of Western sanctions. She flew to Iran. [31:25] She put on the hijab under a [31:27] a portrait of Khomeini and said the [31:30] Islamic Republic of Iran was a victim of [31:32] Western sanctions. All the problems in [31:34] Iran are due to sanctions by the UK, the [31:37] EU, Canada, and the US. [31:39] Um she has flown to Syria and done the [31:42] same. Uh she says Russia is a victim. [31:44] She's gone to Qatar. Qatar was a victim [31:46] when the Gulf countries like the [31:48] Emirates and Saudi had put sanctions on [31:49] Qatar for supporting terrorism about a [31:51] decade ago, she uh went to Qatar. And [31:55] surprisingly, as our database shows [31:57] today, uh which is online at [31:59] unwatch.org, she has received $980,000 [32:03] from China. [32:04] Okay, again, not into her pocket, but [32:06] into her UN office. She's received more [32:09] than $250,000 [32:11] from Vladimir Putin's Russia and she's [32:13] received $50,000 from Qatar. Again, it [32:15] sounds absurd like I'm making this up, [32:17] but she's taking money from world's [32:19] worst regimes and issuing reports that [32:22] could have been written in Doha, Moscow, [32:25] or Beijing. Uh by the way, she flew to [32:27] China, I didn't mention. She flew to [32:28] China. She said everything is fine with [32:30] the Uyghurs. If there's any problems [32:32] with the Uyghurs, it's cuz of Western [32:33] sanctions against China, which makes the [32:35] life hard for the Uyghurs. She also [32:37] appeared in a Chinese video where they [32:40] said things are happy in Xinjiang. Okay, [32:42] literally it's happy times in Xinjiang [32:44] and she appears in the video and is [32:46] going along with the propaganda. This [32:47] was during COVID, about 5 years ago. So, [32:50] it sounds absurd, it sounds laughable, [32:52] but these are UN experts, they are being [32:54] quoted, the system is being subverted. [32:57] I'll mention a handful of others. [32:59] Um [33:01] Louis, maybe we'll uh take a look at uh [33:04] Reem Alsalem. [33:07] Reem Alsalem is the UN Special [33:08] Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. [33:10] So, she's supposed to speak out for [33:11] violence against women. Um [33:13] she [33:15] uh [33:16] has said that uh {quote} "No independent [33:18] investigation found rape took place on [33:20] October 7th." She's one of the world's [33:22] most prominent deniers of Hamas [33:24] atrocities. She's the UN expert on [33:26] violence against women and she abuses [33:29] her mandate. She, by the way, is [33:30] Jordanian-Palestinian, which she doesn't [33:32] disclose or mention anywhere. Um and she [33:35] is one of the world's leading deniers of [33:37] atrocities against [33:39] um against Israelis. And she got called [33:41] out in today's Telegraph. [33:43] The UN Rapporteur on Torture that I [33:44] mentioned, Dr. Edwards, [33:46] says that Dr. Edwards, she went to [33:49] Israel and she saw herself what [33:51] happened, but her colleagues, including [33:54] Alsalem, refused to do a thing. [33:56] Um [33:58] Meanwhile, Alsalem accuses Israel of [34:00] genocide, [34:01] um [34:02] accuses Israel of the Holocaust, forced [34:03] starvation, uh really abuses her [34:07] mandate. Um [34:10] I'll mention [34:11] uh [34:12] two others. [34:14] Um [34:15] And then I'll say something about [34:16] funding and I'll wrap up. Uh let's look [34:18] at Irene Khan. [34:20] Irene Khan is is is a name that'll be [34:22] familiar to uh David for sure [34:24] uh among others. She was the head of [34:25] Amnesty International. I think she was [34:27] appointed uh around the year 2000. It [34:30] was a big deal because she was the first [34:32] woman, I believe, first person of color, [34:34] the first Muslim. She's from Bangladesh. [34:36] And it was a very big deal. Of course, [34:38] when she became Secretary General, she's [34:40] part of the shift Amnesty founded with [34:43] the great idea of holding in holding [34:46] regimes to account, left or right, for [34:48] prisoners of conscience, right? Amnesty [34:49] was prisoners of conscience. You know [34:51] who the perpetrator is, you know who the [34:52] victim is, you know what the crime is. [34:54] And then it shifted into a vague social [34:56] and economic violations. And it really [34:59] completely shifted and part of the [35:00] downturn of Amnesty International. And [35:02] she was a major player in that. When she [35:05] was Secretary General, it was all about [35:06] the Gulag of America, Guantanamo Bay, [35:09] and she really began spending most of [35:11] her time attacking the West, America, [35:13] and Israel. She was a big part of that. [35:16] She left Amnesty, was sort of asked to [35:18] go, got a golden handshake of something [35:20] close to a million dollars. Okay, it was [35:23] was undisclosed, became a big scandal [35:24] here in the UK. Many Amnesty members [35:27] were outraged that their organization [35:29] had had given her so much money as a [35:32] some kind of a severance package. It was [35:34] quite a scandal. And then she became [35:35] even after the scandal, written about in [35:38] your leading newspapers, she got [35:39] appointed a UN expert. It's very much a [35:41] revolving door between groups like [35:43] Amnesty and the UN. So, when they keep [35:45] praising each other, they give them the [35:47] Nobel to Navi Pillay, Amnesty Secretary [35:49] General Agnes Callamard praises her, [35:52] Agnes Callamard was a UN rapporteur. [35:54] It's just a revolving door, Amnesty, UN [35:56] rapporteur, Amnesty, and so forth. Um [36:00] And Irene Khan was for the past 6 years [36:03] the expert on freedom of speech. [36:05] And yet, she said almost not a word [36:08] about censorship in Saudi Arabia, [36:10] censorship in Venezuela, in Myanmar, [36:13] internet shutdowns happening in Iran and [36:15] Turkey. She was the one who should have [36:17] been speaking out, barely a word. [36:20] Instead, when she went to the General [36:22] Assembly for her annual report, the main [36:24] topic was freedom of speech for [36:27] Palestinian protesters, pro-Palestine [36:29] protesters. They're being silenced, [36:30] right? Cuz no one here anywhere hears [36:33] anything from pro-Palestine protesters. [36:34] They're being silenced. Can we stop them [36:36] from being silenced cuz we just don't [36:38] see them anywhere, we don't see the we [36:39] don't see anything. So, that was her [36:41] annual report as in how the West is [36:43] repressing pro-Palestinian protests. [36:45] Meanwhile, she never visited regimes [36:48] that do persecute dissenters, never [36:50] visited China, never investigated [36:52] Russia, never Iran, never Cuba. [36:54] In February this year, I think it was [36:56] her last uh visit before she concluded [36:58] her mandate, she visited the UN expert [37:00] for free speech. Where did she go? [37:02] Germany. [37:03] Why did she go to Germany? I'll quote. A [37:05] primary concern in Germany remains the [37:07] use of anti-terrorism laws to restrict [37:09] advocacy for Palestinian rights, [37:12] chilling public participation, shrinking [37:14] discourse in academia and the arts. So, [37:16] Western countries are guilty of [37:18] censorship for repressing Palestinian [37:20] advocacy. That's the number one issue on [37:22] freedom of speech for this UN expert. By [37:25] the way, her term ended around August [37:28] 1st. Before her term even ended, she was [37:30] named Bangladesh's new ambassador to the [37:32] UN. So, you're supposed to be completely [37:34] independent and impartial. There's um [37:38] there's no [37:39] waiting period between being a UN [37:42] expert. She [37:43] She was named Bangladesh's ambassador [37:45] while she was still UN expert. Final [37:48] gentleman we'll show is our friend [37:49] George Katrougalos. [37:51] Um and uh [37:54] George Katrougalos. [37:55] When I was in [37:57] um [clears throat] [37:58] I don't want to say which country, but I [37:59] was in the foreign ministry of uh [38:01] a large Italian-speaking country um in [38:04] the Mediterranean area. [38:06] Um and I I was in the foreign ministry [38:08] and I uh [38:10] raised complaints about an Italian [38:12] individual who who's a UN rapporteur. [38:17] And I was told, um [38:20] well, go make a complaint to the uh UN [38:23] committee that oversees the complaints [38:25] and rapporteurs. [38:27] Meet the chair of this committee, okay? [38:28] His name is George Katrougalos. He's the [38:30] UN expert for a democratic and equitable [38:32] international order. What is that [38:34] mandate about? The Cubans and their [38:37] friends believe the world isn't fair. [38:39] It's the West against the rest. We need [38:41] an equitable international order. The [38:43] Cuba and China and Pakistan, they're [38:45] going to make sure the world is fair and [38:47] equitable and they've named George [38:48] Katrougalos to be the champion. [38:50] Who is George Katrougalos? He was the [38:52] former minister of Greece [38:54] from the radical left Syriza party. He [38:56] loved visiting China [38:58] a lot and then he was named this UN [39:00] expert. He's going to help make the [39:01] world fair. [39:02] >> [snorts] [39:03] >> He is now the chair of the five or six [39:06] member committee that oversees [39:08] the disciplining of the experts, okay? [39:11] So, we have a complaint filed against [39:12] Francesca Albanese. [39:14] He's the head of the panel that's [39:16] overseeing it. They haven't answered us [39:17] in about many, [clears throat] many [39:18] months. We're not going to get an [39:20] answer. If we get an answer, it'll be we [39:21] checked, everything was fine, she's [39:23] doing a marvelous job. So, the system is [39:25] rotten to the core. Again, I'm not [39:27] saying all of them. I mentioned [39:29] a rapporteur on torture who's doing [39:30] great work and there are others, but as [39:32] a system, it is rotten to the core when [39:34] the diplomats say, [39:36] "We We don't Don't come to us." Right? [39:38] If you go to London, Paris, Berlin, [39:41] Ottawa, Canberra, or other places, they [39:44] say, "Yeah, but just, you know, make a [39:45] complaint to the system." And they know [39:46] that this is the chair. This gentleman, [39:48] George Katrougalos, as you see, he [39:51] received $100,000 from China. Again, not [39:53] to his pocket, but for his activities. [39:55] For what activities, we don't know. And [39:57] they never tell us what the money is [39:59] used for. There's no transparency. I [40:02] know that to be a lawmaker here, I know [40:04] what When I host [40:06] a US lawmaker and for dinner or [40:08] something, they have to make [40:09] disclosures. They have to tell me who [40:10] was there. And and in Brussels, I was [40:13] there. They The amount of disclosures [40:15] and transparency and accountability that [40:17] lawmakers have is very substantial. At [40:19] the UN, it is zero. China gave this [40:22] gentleman $100,000 for his UN [40:24] activities. We don't know what a penny [40:26] of it was spent for. We don't know who [40:27] he hired with the money. Um and again, [40:29] just the fact that a UN human rights [40:31] expert would take money from China is [40:33] problematic in and of itself. It turns [40:35] out that last year in Athens, there was [40:38] an event celebrating Xi Jinping's new [40:40] book. [40:41] Xi Jinping's new book, I'm sure most of [40:43] you have a copy and you've given it to [40:44] your loved ones for their bar mitzvahs [40:46] and their anniversaries. [40:48] Um in uh June last year, he praised Xi [40:51] Jinping for his vision of openness and [40:54] dialogue at this book launch event [40:57] uh in the same year that his office [40:59] received $100,000 from Xi Jinping's [41:02] regime. Again, you couldn't make this up [41:04] if you wanted to. Recently, a few uh [41:06] last month in Geneva, he appeared for [41:09] his annual report and he says America's [41:11] going down, but now the defender of the [41:13] global rules of order is China. And he [41:15] mentions China 32 times. And I was there [41:18] and I took the floor and I said, uh Mr. [41:20] Independent Expert, you mentioned China [41:22] 32 times. You didn't once mention the [41:25] Uyghurs, the Tibetans, Hong Kong, people [41:29] sitting in in political prisoners. [41:31] Um [41:33] and uh [41:36] and he his response was [41:39] um [41:40] his response was [41:42] uh not to say a word about the questions [41:43] we asked. He accused UN Watch of being a [41:46] champion of anti-Semitism. So, that was [41:48] his line. You could watch it. It's on [41:50] our on video. UN Watch is a champion of [41:53] anti-Semitism. [41:54] Um and then of course, China took the [41:55] floor and said, "Why are Why are NGOs [41:58] complaining about our donations? We're [42:00] being quite generous. [42:01] You We're We're being very generous in [42:03] supporting the UN system. When other [42:04] people are not supporting the UN, we're [42:05] supporting the UN by earmarking $100,000 [42:08] for this guy. So, that's what's [42:09] happening at the UN. Um [42:13] Uh I'll just I'm going to I'm going to [42:14] quote Dr. Edwards [42:16] uh who from today's [42:18] um [42:19] from today's Telegraph, which just [42:20] appeared in the newspaper, [42:22] um and she says [42:24] uh that [42:25] um she decided to go to Israel herself. [42:28] She's the rapporteur on torture because [42:29] no one else was doing anything. [42:31] Um [42:32] Uh she said my my colleagues had done [42:35] the UN had done so little to help them. [42:37] Quote, "It had even worsened their [42:39] anguish by refusing for so long to [42:41] acknowledge that the attackers on [42:43] October 7th conducted not just murders, [42:45] but also sexual molestations, rapes, and [42:48] other horrific violence. I felt [42:50] ashamed." This is the outgoing UN [42:52] special rapporteur on torture. "I felt [42:54] ashamed. I'm still outraged that [42:56] Francesca Albanese, the UN special [42:58] rapporteur on the Palestinian [43:00] territories, and Reem Alsalem, the UN [43:02] rapporteur for violence against women, [43:04] never formally documented these horrors [43:07] despite the growing body of evidence, [43:08] which to most of us is indisputable, but [43:10] which they dispute. [43:12] Um Alsalem, she [43:15] says, "has pointed to Israel's refusal [43:17] to grant her entry and access as the [43:19] reason she cannot investigate further. [43:21] Um Instead, both have continued to issue [43:23] a stream of what I regard as one-sided [43:26] and vitriolic reports." So, this is a UN [43:28] expert calling out her colleagues for [43:30] one-sided and vitriolic reports. And she [43:33] says, "Hard to justify excuses for their [43:35] lack of attention that families and [43:38] returned hostages have told me only [43:40] added to their anguish." So, this is [43:42] testimony today in the Telegraph [43:44] about her own colleagues. Uh finally, a [43:47] few words about our new database, which [43:48] you can see online. [43:50] Um So, this is uh uh [43:53] thank Louis for putting together this [43:54] incredible database. It's the first time [43:56] uh ever in history that you can see [43:59] who's funding UN experts. Okay? In some [44:01] cases, it's Western governments, [44:03] uh which is not necessarily nefarious, [44:05] but again, problematic, even if the [44:07] intentions are good, no one should be [44:09] earmarked specific funding. [44:11] Um [44:12] and I'll just mention a few things uh [44:16] about this database. [44:21] So, we we've uh identified $88 million [44:24] in funding. [44:26] Um some of this is from disclosures. [44:29] About a decade or so ago, the UN said, [44:31] "Ah, we really should disclose how [44:32] funding works." So, each UN expert is [44:34] asked to disclose who funds them, which [44:36] government, which foundation, and so [44:38] forth. [44:39] And so, uh we've we've traced with the [44:43] UN disclosures. Each year, there's an [44:44] annual report called Facts and Figures [44:46] of the Special Procedures, and in there, [44:49] all the UN Special Procedures, the [44:51] experts disclose who give them money. [44:53] So, that counts for some of it. But, uh [44:56] then there's money turns out that [44:58] they're not disclosing all of the money. [45:00] Um we've identified 42 million, over 42 [45:04] million, that we've red-flagged in our [45:06] database for missing information, [45:09] opaque sourcing, or violating [45:11] disclosures. For example, uh the office [45:14] of Catalina Devandas Aguilar, she was [45:17] the special rapporteur [45:19] uh on the rights of persons with [45:21] disabilities, received $677,000, [45:25] where the donors were Open Society, [45:28] that's George Soros's foundation, and [45:29] Wellspring. These are progressive [45:32] foundations, so-called. We're not named [45:34] in the disclosure form, and instead only [45:36] a conduit organization was named. So, if [45:39] you're saying you're getting money from [45:41] such and such group, but you're not [45:43] saying the money really came originally [45:45] from George Soros's foundation, you're [45:46] not making full disclosure. Uh or the [45:48] donation was described, in many cases, [45:50] as anonymous. [45:52] Uh but UN Watch, from public filings, [45:54] was able to identify Wellspring as the [45:57] donor. So, uh this has never happened [46:00] before that we now have a new database [46:02] for each of these UN experts, you can [46:04] say who's funding them. This is not to [46:06] say that the problem is all about [46:07] funding. Many of these are ideologues [46:10] who are doing it out of [46:12] uh their ideology, [46:14] but the funding has to be addressed. [46:17] Um [46:19] I'm going to mention [46:21] uh [46:22] one gentleman I want to mention. I [46:24] didn't mention him yet, which is uh [46:26] Philip Alston. We can take a look at [46:28] Philip Alston. [46:30] And I'm going to wrap up in 2 minutes so [46:31] we can have any questions. [46:35] So, Philip Alston is an eminent uh law [46:37] professor um in [46:41] uh [46:42] in the US at NYU, and he was a UN expert [46:45] for many years in different roles, [46:47] including 2014 to 2020 as the UN expert [46:50] on poverty. [46:54] Now, some people here may know of him [46:56] because um in uh for 2 years [46:59] um here in the UK [47:01] uh rather than visit as UN expert on [47:03] poverty, right? Poverty. Rather than [47:06] visit the 10 poorest places on the [47:07] planet, Yemen, Burundi, Malawi, Central [47:11] African Republic, Liberia, Niger, [47:13] Madagascar, [47:15] DR Congo, Gambia, Mozambique, he didn't [47:17] visit those countries. He visited the [47:18] UK. [47:20] Right? So, here where you have a you [47:22] have political parties of all kinds, you [47:24] have activists who can speak out on [47:26] poverty and who do it all the time, um [47:28] they don't need a UN expert to do this. [47:30] Those countries don't have those things, [47:32] but he came here. And when he came to [47:34] the UK, [47:35] uh what did he say? Um [47:38] he said, I'm going to quote the the the [47:40] This is in 2019. The headline was UN [47:43] report compares UK welfare policies to [47:46] Victorian workhouses. Uh you recall this [47:48] uh this report? [47:49] >> I do. [47:49] >> Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to quote from CNN. [47:51] A UN report on poverty in the UK has [47:53] painted a damning picture of a nation [47:55] where compassion for the poorest has [47:57] been replaced with a quote mean-spirited [48:00] approach reminiscent of the 19th century [48:01] workhouses made infamous by Charles [48:03] Dickens. [48:04] That's Philip Alston. [48:06] Um he says the Conservative government [48:09] is in a state of denial about the 14 [48:10] million people living on the breadline. [48:13] Um continuing decade-long austerity [48:15] measures despite tragic social [48:16] consequences. UK is the world's fifth [48:18] largest economy, yet 1/5 of the [48:20] population is in poverty. 40% of [48:22] children predicted to be living in [48:23] poverty in the next 2 and 1/2 years. [48:25] Uh report follows a 2-week fact-finding [48:27] mission around the UK in November, [48:29] during which Alston visited nine towns, [48:30] two cities, speaking to families about [48:32] the impact of changes to welfare [48:34] benefits, welfare benefits, and local [48:35] government funding. So, I don't want to [48:38] minimize the issue of poverty. It's a [48:39] real issue. But this person came with a [48:41] very sharp ideology. The only places [48:44] that he visited in those 2 years was the [48:45] US and the UK. 2018 was the United [48:48] States and 2019 was the UK. What he [48:50] didn't disclose [48:52] um was that he was getting a huge amount [48:54] of money [48:55] from [48:56] uh [48:57] partisan organizations. And I'm just [48:59] going to mention two. [49:00] Um [49:02] uh [49:03] he did not mention in 2018 [49:06] that he was getting money from [49:08] uh [49:09] see, he was received $200,000 from [49:12] George Soros's Open Society Foundation. [49:14] Would have been a relevant thing to know [49:16] uh when when the Guardian and others [49:17] were reporting on these uh damning [49:19] findings about the UK uh mass poverty. [49:23] Uh he had received $200,000 that year in [49:25] 2018 and 2019. 2019 he received $400,000 [49:29] um from the Open Society Foundation and [49:32] it was [49:33] uh [49:34] not disclosed. So, in total, he kept [49:36] $600,000 [49:38] in direct funding from Open Society [49:40] Foundation off the books, preventing [49:42] anyone here from knowing that his [49:44] mandate was bankrolled by this kind of [49:47] thing. We have numerous other examples [49:50] uh in this uh in this database. [49:53] Uh, I just want to wrap up by saying, [49:55] what do we need to do going forward? In [49:57] our report, we document uh, conclusions [50:00] and recommendations. The report is [50:01] called from watchdogs to ideologues, can [50:04] be found on our website. I'm just going [50:06] to summarize a few of the key uh, [50:08] our key of our recommendations. [50:10] Democracies need to speak out and stand [50:12] up. You you can't rely on the Human [50:13] Rights Council, which is dominated by [50:15] China, Cuba, Qatar, and Pakistan to make [50:17] changes, but the democracies should form [50:19] an alliance and speak out. On some [50:21] occasions, on Francesca Albanese, 18 [50:24] countries condemned her for antisemitism [50:26] at some point. Okay, at some point, but [50:28] rarely acting as an alliance. They need [50:31] to form an alliance and speak out [50:33] against this subversion. Um, [50:36] they we need to complete end to [50:38] earmarked funding. People want to [50:40] donate, donate to a pool of funds, and [50:42] it goes to each expert who deserves the [50:45] funds. Many of the mandates should be [50:47] scrapped. These anti-Western mandates, [50:50] they only dilute the good work of people [50:52] like the special rapporteur on torture. [50:54] There's a limited amount of attention [50:55] countries can have, and if you have [50:57] dozens and dozens of worthless mandates, [50:59] you dilute their attention. Until we ban [51:03] the funding, we need complete [51:04] disclosure. Every UN expert has to say [51:06] who funded their travel. Albanese says [51:09] she received She's been flying all [51:11] around the world. Who's paying for it? [51:12] We have no idea. She disclosed that [51:14] there was travel. We know cuz we see her [51:16] going all around the world, but we don't [51:17] know who's paying for it. The same for [51:18] many of the other experts. Many of them [51:20] are partisan NGOs, invite them, and a [51:23] kind of dictate their agenda. So, we [51:24] need full disclosure. Finally, on social [51:27] media, as I mentioned, one of the [51:28] reasons they're so influential is that [51:30] they're tweeting every 5 minutes. [51:32] The UN has rules. A rapporteur was [51:34] supposed to be a serious scholar. [51:36] Supposed to be someone who corroborates [51:37] their facts, who shows the findings to [51:40] the state concerned. And so, there's a a [51:42] serious dialogue with the state [51:43] concerned. They're not doing any of this [51:45] now on Twitter, on X, on social media. [51:48] So, either either they don't tweet at [51:50] all, there's no social media, or they [51:52] enforce their own rules. And before they [51:55] accuse Albanese accused Israel of [51:57] killing hundreds of thousands of [51:58] children in Gaza, more children that [52:00] even exist in in Gaza, [52:03] they have to have minimal standards [52:05] of evidentiary standards of [52:07] of due process. [52:11] And and I would say finally is that, you [52:13] know, Western governments when these uh [52:16] rapporteurs are being cited in [52:17] international courts, they're not just [52:19] cited in the media, the ICJ, the ICC are [52:21] citing human special rapporteurs, [52:23] Western democracies should make [52:25] submissions and say, "Well, you know, we [52:27] have something to say about who these [52:29] are." If we don't speak out and defend [52:32] human rights as it should be, nobody [52:33] else will. Thank you. [52:35] >> Brilliant. Thank you so much. I thought [52:37] that deserves an absolute round [52:40] But I'll thank [applause] you very much [52:41] for standing up.
