Tag: Jean Ziegler

Jean Ziegler pleads for wellbeing of MEK at Camp Abbas in Iraq

I received this by email, from the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights in Geneva, and shall reproduce it here in its entirety almost without comment, except to point out that this concerns the Iraqi base camp of the military units of the Iranian opposition Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, which has long been a thorn in the side (and worse) of the Islamic Republic government in Iran.

“The Special Rapporteur on the right to food to the Human Rights Council, Jean Ziegler, issued the following statement today:

‘Geneva, 6 March 2008: — I am deeply concerned about information I continue to receive concerning the deteriorating situation in Ashraf City/Camp Ashraf (Iraq) and its surrounding area, following an explosion on 8 February 2008 that destroyed the water pumps in Zorganieh, which supply the area.

That pumping station provided drinking water and irrigation for Ashraf City and its surrounding area, covering more than 20,000 persons.  The explosion has caused water and food shortages for the local population, which relies on local food supplies already severely affected by water scarcity. The situation is made more critical by increasingly hot weather.

Some of the reports I have received allege that the explosion may have been intended to increase pressure on over 3,000 members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) confined in Camp Ashraf in Diyala province.  In July 2004, the United StatesThe camp remains under the control of the multi-national force under the demobilization agreement the Iraqi authorities signed with the PMOI in May 2003. Government recognized PMOI members as Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention, meaning that they should not be deported, expelled or repatriated, or displaced inside Iraq.

The rights to food and to drinking water are protected by international human rights law.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right of everyone “to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food”, and other international human rights instruments, to which Iraq is a party, further spell out the protection of these rights.

The Iraqi authorities have failed to protect the inhabitants of Ashraf City and its surrounding area from the actions of third parties which are impeding enjoyment of the rights to food and water and creating a critical humanitarian situation. The competent authorities must restore urgently the water supply to all the inhabitants of the region affected by the explosion in the water pumping station; the affected population must be protected from violation of their rights by third parties. I call on the Iraqi authorities to take immediate measures to guarantee the rights to food and water of the inhabitants of Ashraf City/Camp Ashraf and its surrounding area.

*****

The Special Rapporteur on the Right to food sent a letter to the Iraqi government on 17 October 2006 where he inter alia raised concern about the damages caused by a series of explosions to the water pipeline that stretches 26 km from the pumping station near the Tigris River to Camp Ashraf. This allegedly affected access of the Camp residents and nearby villages to drinking water for approximately two weeks. Irrigation was also reportedly disrupted by the explosions.

For further information on the mandate and work of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, please consult the following website http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/food/index.htm

The UN regrets…

Diplomats, NGOs, the general public, and even UN officials are not admitted to UN press conferences. This is a long-standing rule, and the UN’s Department of Public Information always stations accreditation officers at the entrance of UN press conferences or UN briefings to make sure that only properly accredited journalists enter.

This is to ensure that a press conference remains a press conference, and not just a polite committee meeting, or a rally. It is also, most importantly, to ensure the absence of pressure and intimidation on journalists, who should be free to ask whatever question they want without fear of reprisal. It was very important to maintain this rule during the bad years of the Cold War, but it clearly still remains important today.

The latest inexplicable violation of this long-standing rule happened just very recently at a press conference at the UN Office in Geneva by the UN Human Rights Committee’s controversial and headline-getting Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Swiss academic Jean Ziegler. Cuban diplomats were present, in violation of the basic rule, and then asked about the identity of a journalist who apparently asked provocative questions — an important violation of the fundamental principle at stake.

While the matter is a very serious one for the freedom of the press, it would not have been paid too much attention were it not for the fact that anything to do with Jean Ziegler’ comes under close scrutiny.

Jean Ziegler has been controversial in Switzerland for being a Socialist — Switzerland is a country which was at the forefront of the anti-communist defense during the Cold War, and still has powerful right wing political parties.

He has also provoked strong reaction among supporters of Israel following his reports on problems of hunger and malnutrition in the occupied Palestinian territory. Ziegler, who is Jewish, told journalists at the time that he believed the reaction was due to the fact that he is a supporter of the Alternate Information Center in Jerusalem, run by Israelis who are critical of their government’s policies towards Palestinians.

It was UN Watch which brought this latest matter to the attention of the wider press and public, with an email distributed to its mailing list last night.

Continue reading The UN regrets…