Israeli lobby group, NGO Monitor, has intensified its campaign against candidates applying for the position of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Palestinian legal group, Al-Haq, denounced in a Tweet on Sunday.
With a new appointment for the position expected to be made in the coming months, the Israeli group sent a letter to UN Human Rights Council President Nazhat Shameem Khan, urging her not to consider the candidates applying for the position because of their “anti-Israel partisanship”.
🧵1/3 In an underhand attempt to undermine the international legal order, @NGOMonitor @UNWatch & affiliates are campaigning against candidates applying for the position of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory pic.twitter.com/NrdpGAi5X1
— Al-Haq الحق (@alhaq_org) January 23, 2022
The Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967 was created in 1993. Appointments for the position have always been made through an independent process overseen by the Human Rights Council.
Special Rapporteurs are not UN staff members; they do not receive a salary from the United Nations and do not work for any government or interest group, allowing them to maintain their independence.
The current Special Rapporteur is Canadian law professor Michael Lynk who was appointed in 2016. Like his predecessor, Professor Richard Falk, and before him South African judge John Dugard, Special Rapporteurs on Palestine have received an extremely hostile reception from Israel, which regularly obstructs their work by denying them entry to the occupied territories.
Yesterday, the #UN Special Rapporteur on #Palestine presented his new report on #collectivepunishment to @UN_HRC: "It is an affront to justice and the rule of law to see that such methods continue to be used in the 21st century." #StopCollectivePunishment https://t.co/t5aD1aFUrN pic.twitter.com/ZCG2tJ0HO3
— Al-Haq الحق (@alhaq_org) July 17, 2020
In its letter to Khan, a copy of which was shared in a tweet by Palestinian legal group, Al-Haq in a tweet, NGO Monitor says that five of the six candidates have displayed anti-Israel bias and therefore should not be considered for the post. Pro-Israel groups often use such arguments to defame critics of the occupation state as anti-Semitic.
The letter claims that the three former Special Rapporteurs “are responsible for promoting” what it calls “the apartheid slander and BDS” referring to the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.
Is Israel an Apartheid State? Former UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk says “yes,” and explains why.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/0AlcKeCX2g
— mohammed musleh 𓂆 (@MohammadMusle18) April 29, 2018
Al-Haq slammed the letter describing it as an “underhand attempt to undermine the international legal order.”
The group explained that the letter is “part of an ongoing assault against Palestinian rights & those who defend them, supported by the State of Israel, based on unsubstantiated, baseless & ridiculous grounds. Every person has the right to freedom of expression, association & assembly”.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
