"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
Frédérique Ries, Member
of the European Parliament, speaking at the United Nations Human Rights
Council, on behalf of UN Watch, Geneva, June 29, 2015.
Frédérique Ries:
I take the floor on behalf on UN watch,
Mr. President. I have been a member of
the European Parliament for more than 15 years, and am therefore used to
hearing a lot of things in the European Parliament concerning the Middle East. I
am a journalist viscerally attached to the truth, to the facts, and to their
consequences. And I must admit that what I have heard here since this morning
is beyond comprehension.
We know well the members of this Human Rights
Council: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, China, Cuba, Russia, and so on, who virtually
every day violate every article of the Universal Declaration, and who are
highlighted in this regard at each of our sessions in Strasbourg.
Cuban representative:
Thank you, Mr. President. We are analyzing
item 7, the situation in Israel. The situation of human rights in Palestine and
other occupied territories. Violations
committed by Israel. We are not judging here other countries. We ask that you
call the speaker to order and that she speaks and refers to only on the topic
of the agenda. We will not allow that she continues to speak on human rights
situations in other countries that do not correspond to this topic. Thank you.
Vice President:
Thank you very much. I’ll
give back the floor to the speaker. Let me advise that indeed this is item 7, a
specific item, so I do advice that we stick to the parameters of the item. Thank
you very much, but I do give you back
the floor.
Frédérique Ries:
Human rights are universal,
Mr. President, and so is my freedom of expression.
While we were warned of
the Council’s shameful obsession with Israel, some of the statements here were simply
astonishing.
What is the truth?
The tragedy of a war,
the tragedy of the victims, who, in the words of Ms.Davis are much more than collateral
damage. But I shall cite Camus: “Misnaming things adds to the evil of the
world.”
Israel is not the aggressor.
And I have to contradict the statement made this morning by the Chair of the
inquiry. It is Hamas, whom by the way she does not name, and why? who for
more than a year has rained missiles on the towns of Israel, something which no
government in the world would have tolerated without reacting.
The facts: this is an investigation
that was biased from its very creation, the Council last July having declared Israel
guilty in advance.
The facts: this is an
investigation led almost until the end by a former consultant of the PLO. They
lacked expertise, and they lacked information due to Israel’s refusal to
cooperate in this context.
Ultimately, the report
seeks to equate Israel with Hamas. Equal in condemnation then a terrorist organization
recognized as such, and Israel, a democratic state, the only one in this
combustible region which is based on human rights.
So, in the end, where
are we heading? So no, war is not right, none is. Yes, Israel is held to the high standards that we share. Yes,
Israel should certainly have cooperated.
But, and I was just
speaking about the consequences of our actions, I do not think that twisting
the truth produces the slightest chance of peace. And that is what we seek.