It’s a match made in United Nations heaven: The Human Rights Council is poised to promote a woman who is sympathetic to authoritarian regimes into a role investigating sanctions against those regimes.
Council president Ambassador Sidharto Suryodipuro of Indonesia has proposed Palestinian academic Zeina Jallad to be the Special Rapporteur investigating the human-rights risks of “unilateral coercive measures.” That’s the U.N.’s term for economic sanctions. In an unusual move, Mr. Suryodipuro passed over the candidate the five-nation vetting committee had
It’s a match made in United Nations heaven: The Human Rights Council is poised to promote a woman who is sympathetic to authoritarian regimes into a role investigating sanctions against those regimes.
Council president Ambassador Sidharto Suryodipuro of Indonesia has proposed Palestinian academic Zeina Jallad to be the Special Rapporteur investigating the human-rights risks of “unilateral coercive measures.” That’s the U.N.’s term for economic sanctions. In an unusual move, Mr. Suryodipuro passed over the candidate the five-nation vetting committee had recommended as its top choice for the job.
The elevation of Ms. Jallad suggests a gesture to the Palestinian lobby, says Hillel Neuer of the nonprofit UN Watch. Ms. Jallad is currently legal adviser to the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, who has accused Israel of genocide and rejects Israeli sovereignty.
Mr. Suryodipuro’s March 2 letter to envoys at the U.N.’s Geneva office cited Ms. Jallad’s “practice-grounded perspective” and “her pledge to approach the role with independence, transparency and a commitment to listen.”
Ms. Jallad criticized the U.S., Europe and Israel for boycotting Hamas after its 2006 Palestinian election victory, and she has said that “before talking about October 7th [the 2023 Hamas massacre], let’s talk about October 6th.” She wants to suspend Israel’s involvement in international organizations. When serving on the Human Rights Council’s investigative body for Syria, she blamed Western sanctions for civilian suffering under the Assad regime. Can you guess whose side she’d take when probing U.S. sanctions on Iran?
Any of the Council’s 47 member states can force a vote on Ms. Jallad’s appointment before the Council’s 61st Session ends Monday. But since its creation in 2006, the Council has approved by consensus all candidates proposed as Special Rapporteurs, supposedly independent experts who don’t speak for the world body itself.
The role Ms. Jallad could assume was established by an Iran-sponsored resolution in 2014 with the support of Russia, China, Venezuela and Cuba. The outgoing rapporteur, Belarusian law professor Alena Douhan, received $375,000 in funding from China, Qatar and Russia while issuing reports that absolved those nations for their humanitarian and economic sins. Wait until her likely successor grabs the spotlight.
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