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U.N. Chief Urged to Investigate Official's Complicity With Undercover Castro Agents "Until Mr. Ban and Ms. Arbour take action, Jean Ziegler's unethical conduct will cast a shadow upon the reputation and integrity of all the independent experts" -- Hillel Neuer, UN Watch FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Media Relations media1@unwatch.org <mailto:media1@unwatch.org> Geneva, Nov. 13, 2007 — After the Associated Press reported today that a U.N. official relied on undercover Cuban diplomats to intimidate a French journalist, UN Watch, the Geneva-based monitoring organization, called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and members of the UN Human Rights Council to order a full investigation into "the tangled web of Jean Ziegler's collusion with the Castro regime." Mr. Ziegler, mandated by the council to address the "right to food," recently returned to his native At an October 11 press conference convened by Ziegler prior to his departure -- where he announced that he would visit Cuba not to investigate violations but rather to praise its government -- a journalist who asked critical questions was quickly singled out by undercover Cuban diplomats who had entered the room in violation of a strict U.N. prohibition. The officials asked other journalists to identify the name and agency of the reporter who debated Ziegler. "I can only regret this incident," wrote Elena Ponomareva, a U.N. spokeswoman, in a letter to the UN correspondents' association, adding that she would share her thoughts with Ziegler "concerning the presence of members of the mission of According to Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, Ziegler's complicity with the Castro regime extends far deeper. "The U.N.'s confirmation that Ziegler used undercover agents of the Castro regime to intimidate journalists only underscores the need to immediately investigate his entire mission to "Most of the UN's independent rights experts do serious and vital work," said Neuer. "Ziegler, however, is the only one who, by his own admission, visits certain countries -- Castro's Neuer released key facts about Ziegler's deep entanglement with the Cuban government that he said needed to be addressed by U.N. investigators: 1. Ziegler's Cuban Alliance Breaches his Obligations to be Impartial and Objective * In 1998, Jean Ziegler, as co-founder and vice-chairman of the " Prize <> ). * * Ziegler, whose usually acerbic language includes accusations that the * “ * “Ensuring access to food has remained a priority of the Government [of * “Twenty States in the world have Constitutions . . . refer to the right to food . . . One of the most explicit norms is the one contained in the Cuban Constitution…” (Report E/CN.4/2001/53 by Jean Ziegler, 7 February 2001, at 16). * In his UN reports and statements, Ziegler failed to mention his lifetime fascination with the Castro regime: “At 4 o'clock in the morning one April day in 1964, Jean Ziegler was on the 12th floor of a luxury hotel overlooking 2. Ziegler's The U.N. should investigate how Ziegler was allowed to use thousands of dollars from the Office of the High Commissioner to undertake a costly mission that breached due process and basic U.N. rules by declaring its partisan verdict from the start. After the council in June eliminated its expert on * “Ziegler... says that his invitation is ‘a signal that * "The Cubans have found solutions regarding the right to food in difficult conditions," Jean Ziegler (Agence France Presse, 31 August 2007, “ * “I welcome the invitation. It is a sign that * “Ziegler praised Rapporteur <> ") 3. How Castro Regime Used Ziegler The presence of Cuban agents in the Ziegler press conference was not accidental. The Castro regime carefully planned Ziegler's recent visit as a major propaganda exercise for domestic and foreign consumption. Following are some of the many quotes of the U.N. expert played up by the Cuban media: * “Making use of great creativity, Rights <> ,”) * During his trip, “Ziegler will learn about several projects and programs underway on the island to guarantee food for all Cuban citizens and to keep advancing the construction of an increasingly fair society, despite the difficulties * "Ziegler said he did not see any undernourished person in Protects its People´s Right to Food <> .") www.unwatch.org <http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=6dJELRMvFgJDIUK&s=6eJFLSMwEgIHJRNxGnF&m=huLUK8OSKoI7F> UN Watch is a Geneva-based human rights organization founded in 1993 to monitor UN compliance with the principles of its Charter. It is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).
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