UN Human Rights Council urged to fire Qaddafi's officials

45 rights groups urge UN Human Rights Council to fire Qaddafi-linked officials Ziegler & Al-Hajjaji

Veteran Qaddafi rep sits on mercenaries expert group meeting today

GENEVA, April 5 -- An international coalition of 45 human rights groups today urged Ban Ki-moon and UN rights chief Navi Pillay to call on the UN Human Rights Council to fire two officials for their alleged actions over three decades to shield Libyan dictator Col. Qaddafi from scrutiny of his regime's gross violations of human rights. (See full text below.)

The appeal names Jean Ziegler, a member of the UNHRC Advisory Committee, who in 1989 announced the creation of the "Moammar Qaddafi Prize for Human Rights." When Libya's rights record was reviewed in November, a Libyan-funded group tied to Ziegler distributed a 2010 book, edited by Ziegler, which likens Qaddafi to the philosopher Rousseau.

The 45 NGOs, mostly from Africa, also urged the council to fire Najat Al-Hajjaji, Qaddafi's long-time representative to UN human rights bodies, from the council's expert working group on mercenaries and human rights -- which is now holding a week-long session in Geneva.

As the NGO petition circulated, a Swiss TV report last week confirmed Ziegler's key role in creating the Qaddafi prize, which it described as "an instrument of propaganda for the dictator." As a result, citing his Qaddafi connections, the famed Salzburg Festival decided last week to cancel Ziegler's keynote address at its 2011 event this summer, sparking a heated controversy in Austria.

"If a leading music festival is ashamed and now distances itself from Qaddafi apologists," asked Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based monitoring group UN Watch, "why is the United Nations not doing the same? Ziegler and Al-Hajjaji must be fired now if the UN wishes to retain any credibility on human rights."

The 45 NGOs also urged the Swiss government to apologize for nominating Ziegler to the UN council in 2008 and lobbying on his behalf, despite objections voiced at the time over his advocacy for the Qaddafi regime.

ENDS

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