Maraaz 
Emma Reilly, an employee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and human rights lawyer, shared her e-mail correspondence she witnessed while on active duty at OHCHR.
The allegations that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) shared the names of Tibetan and Hong Kong opponents, especially Uyghur activists, with the Chinese government gained a new dimension with correspondence.
OHCHR employee and human rights lawyer Emma Reilly, who repeatedly voiced allegations that the Commissioner shared the names of dissidents with the Chinese government, shared her e-mail correspondence she witnessed while on active duty at OHCHR.
In addition to e-mail correspondence between OHCHR employees, press releases and interviews, he shared the names of many Chinese activists and some other opponents who participated in events such as panels, conferences and open sessions that the UN frequently organized on human rights in the past, with the Chinese delegation in the UN. reveals.
Reilly argues that the name sharing with the Chinese government continues today. As evidence for this, he cites a press release issued by the UN in 2017 and the UN’s statement that the practice is still ongoing at the hearing he attended as “defendant” in 2019. According to Emma Reilly, this contradicts the UN statement that the practice was terminated in 2015.
In the press release of OHCHR dated 2 February 2017, the following statements draw attention: “Chinese officials and others often ask the UN Office for Human Rights whether some non-governmental organization members will attend meetings a few days or weeks before the Human Rights Council (HRC) sessions. The office has been officially completed and there is no obvious security threat. does not confirm this information until. “
The statement shows that name sharing can be done after the accreditation process is completed. Considering that the accreditation processes for the HRC sessions were completed weeks ago, it is understood that the Chinese government will have enough time to put pressure on the people in question, if desired.
Some organizations, including “UN Watch” and “Human Rights Watch”, claim that the UN practice endangers not only the lives of Chinese activists and dissidents, but also their families and relatives.
The correspondence Reilly shared with the AA correspondent, who brought up the allegations regarding the sharing of the names of the opponents, reveals the problematic operation in the UN.
In an e-mail dated 7 September 2012, a diplomat from the UN Delegation to China requested the OHCHR liaison officer dealing with non-governmental organizations to provide information on whether or not the names on the list he sent to the 21st session of the UN Human Rights Council, “as always,” does.
In response, the UN official stated that the Chinese diploma “Dolkun Isa” and the wife of Chinese activist Gao Zhisheng, Hi Ging, will be among the participants. In the correspondence in 2013, the Chinese diplomat said, “In the previous sessions, there was a very good cooperation between the Chinese mission and your unit. Again, we need your help.” He wants to confirm once again which names will attend the session. During the period of e-mail correspondence, it is seen that the Ambassador of the Permanent Representation of China to the UN Office in Geneva invited OHCHR employees to lunch and tea on different dates.
Reilly: UN continues to name dissidents in China
Human rights lawyer Reilly stated that he is in court with the UN and that the hearings are continuing at the UN Dispute Court, “I have no job right now. The UN continues to pay my salary, I have no job description. They know that I am telling the truth, they cannot fire me, but they do not give me any job.” used the expression.
Reilly stated that he first learned in February 2013 that OHCHR leaked the names of opponents and activists to Chinese diplomats, “I immediately started reporting this issue. I reported it to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the time, the European Union (EU).” said.
Reilly claimed that an OHCHR employee on the issue “made false statements” to the EU and the EU did not follow the matter. Reilly stated that he was able to determine that approximately 50 to 70 Chinese opponents were named by the UN to China, and 8-9 of them were citizens of the USA and 5-6 of them were German citizens.
Stating that he informed both countries of OHCHR’s implementation, Reilly said, “OHCHR’s giving the names of citizens of other countries to China is also a diplomatic issue.” found the assessment. Reilly said, “The UN said in a press release released in 2017 and in court in 2019 that the practice is still continuing. “ spoke.
Reilly stated that he won the case against him at the first hearing at the UN court and Australian judge Rowan Downing ruled that OHCHR’s practice was “illegal”; “The UN did not like this decision very much and they pulled the judge out of the case.” made the claim.
“The lives of those whose names are given to China are in danger”
Reilly emphasized that OHCHR does not have the right to announce the names of the participants in the meetings to China, according to the UN Guideline. “Actually, there is a directive from the UN Human Rights Council. According to this instruction, if any country wants to know who attended the meetings, it needs to get approval before the member states of the IHK Board. This instruction, very clearly written in the IHK, was violated by China.”
“The lives of those named (to China) are in danger. None of them are aware that their names have been given to China. My job as a UN Human Rights worker was to raise this issue,” Reilly said. said. Reilly stated that the name of the President of the World Uyghur Congress, Dolkun Isa, who attended the UN HRC activities in Geneva in 2016 and 2019, was also given to China, and that he witnessed in favor of Isa during the investigation process.
Stating that Isa had been arrested several times in Europe under the pressure of China, Reilly said: “His brother in China was also arrested. The agents visited his family in China and asked him not to defend the rights of (Uyghur Turks). As a direct result of his name being given to China, Isa was prevented from entering the UN several times.” There have been many incidents of China’s retaliation against the defenders. “
“Most of the activists are Uyghur Turks”
Emphasizing that China cannot share the names of other activists against which it retaliated, Reilly said that most of them are Uighur Turks. Reilly noted that the Chinese government intimidated the families of Tibetan and Hong Kong activists and dissidents, as well as Uyghur Turks. Underlining that the Practices, especially the relatives of Uyghur activists named to China by the UN, are “clear evidence that they are being held in training camps, forced labor, and subjected to sexual violence,” Reilly said, “While all these were announced by independent UN human rights experts, the UN Secretariat said that these people were giving their names to China and making their families a target is complicity. “ found the assessment.
“UN has become a partner in international crimes, let those responsible give account”
Regarding why the UN Human Rights Office has notified its implementation to member states, Reilly said: “Because it (the UN) is a partner in international crimes. This is the opposite of what the UN should do. The UN Office of Human Rights should not risk the lives of human rights defenders. It is shocking that the only concern of the office is to try to prevent me from reporting this. A situation.”
UN denied Reilly’s allegations
OHCHR Spokesperson Rupert Colville argued that the name sharing practice was “limited” before 2015 and ended after this date. “Limited practice has ended since 2015. OHCHR has not confirmed to any state the names of activists who have been accredited to attend sessions of the UN Human Rights Council for the past 5 years,” Colville told AA on January 14. The claim that the practice he brought to the agenda continues today is false. “ had used the expression. Arguing that “there is no evidence that OHCHR’s practice harms any participant,” Colville said contrary to Reilly’s claims, “we firmly reject Reilly’s improper claims. we are in position. “ had found the assessment.
Isa: China prevents dissidents from entering the UN
Dolkun Isa, President of the World Uyghur Congress, told (AA) that they wanted to attend the UN HRC meeting in 2013 with Uyghur activist Rabia Kadir and other Uyghurs, that the police tried to get them out of the hall despite their accreditation, and this was due to Chinese initiatives. Stating that they were detained in Italy in 2017 before a meeting under the pressure of China, İsa stated that in 2018, China prevented China from entering the UN by accusing “terrorists”. “China is using all the means at its disposal to prevent us. They even expelled us from the UN by police force in New York in 2017,” Jesus said. said. Stating that all contact with his family was cut off, Isa said that he heard about his father’s death from the press, his mother died in controversial camps in China in 2018, his younger brother was missing, and his elder brother was also arrested and sentenced to prison.
