Published: 03/26/2008
Human rights activists are urging Switzerland to drop its nominee to a
U.N. council because he praised a Holocaust denier.
Swiss officials in recent weeks have campaigned for Jean Ziegler to fill
one of 18 "expert" posts on the U.N. Human Rights Council.
A letter coordinated by U.N. Watch, a United Nations monitor, outlines
Ziegler's past support for notorious dictators, including Cuba's Fidel
Castro, Ethiopia's Haile Mengistu, Libya's Moammar Ghadafy, Zimbabwe's
Robert Mugabe and North Korea's Kim Il-Sung.
In 1996, Ziegler praised French Holocaust denier Roger Gaurady as "one
of the leading thinkers of our time."
Among those signing the letter are Irwin Cotler, the former Canadian
foreign minister; Per Ahlmark, the former deputy Swedish prime minister;
leaders of Darfur and Cuban activist groups; and representatives of some
20 nongovernmental organizations. According to U.N. Watch, Ziegler has
ties to the Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey.
Ziegler is currently the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food.
In that capacity in 2005, he compared Israeli soldiers to Nazi guards,
earning a rare reprimand from top U.N. officials.
The council votes Wednesday on the posts.
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