UK should consider expelling Richard Falk whom it has condemned 3 times for racism
Watchdog Salutes U.N. Chief for Deleting Israel 'Apartheid' Slur, Welcomes Resignation of Rima Khalaf
GENEVA -- UN Watch welcomed today's resignation by Rima Khalaf from her post as head of a Beirut-based UN agency, comprised of 18 Arab states, after what she described as pressure from secretary-general Antonió Guterres to withdraw a report accusing Israel of "apartheid."
The report appears to have been deleted today from the U.N. ESCWA agency's website.
As
revealed by UN Watch, the author of the report was disgraced ex-UN official Richard Falk, who had been denounced on repeated occasions by former UN chief Ban Ki-moon and other world leaders for espousing 9/11 conspiracy theories, blaming the U.S. and Israel for the Boston Marathon bombing, and spreading antisemitism.
UN Watch called on the British government to consider whether under law Richard Falk should be expelled from the UK, where he is now lecturing, on account of his having been
denounced three times by the UK government for racism
Earlier this week, U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley welcomed remarks by Guterres' spokesman distancing himself from the report, but she demanded that the UN "withdraw the report altogether."
"Guterres deserves credit for doing the right thing," said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.
"But there is no question that the initial moral voice here was that of U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley, and that it was U.S. leverage which prompted the UN to act."
ABOUT RICHARD FALK, author of the UN report
Falk Blamed Boston Terror Attacks on U.S. & Israel
Richard Falk sought to blame the April 2013 Boston terrorist attack, which left 4 dead and 300 wounded, on "the American global domination project" and "Tel Aviv." Falk was condemned by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said his comments "undermine the credibility and the work of the United Nations." U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said that "someone who spews such vitriol has no place at the UN," and noted the "absurdity" of Mr. Falk's continued service.
The British Mission to the United Nations condemned Falk's "antisemitic" remarks, highlighting it was the third time they had to do so. Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird condemned Falk's "mean-spirited, anti-Semitic rhetoric," and noted that "the United Nations should be ashamed to even be associated with such an individual. Members of the U.S. Congress, Democrats and Republicans, including Rep. Mike Kelly, Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rep. Doug Lamborn, Rep. Eliot Engel and Rep. Trent Franks, also condemned Falk.
Human Rights Watch Expelled Falk
Human Rights Watch expelled Falk in December 2012, following the United Nations Watch complaint about his ethical breaches.
PLO Tried to Oust Falk Over His Support of Hamas
As the UN's rapporteur on Palestine, Falk was so extreme in his support for the Hamas terrorist organization that even the Palestinian Authority tried to remove him, on grounds that he was a "
partisan of Hamas":
Richard Falk, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Monday the Palestinian Authority urged him to step down after he criticized the PA's treatment of a UN war crimes report... Falk said PA officials formally approached him in February asking him to resign... "Informally they say different things, things that are essentially untrue, that my health doesn't me allow to do the job or that I'm a partisan of Hamas."
U.N. Rights Chief & PM David Cameron, Condemned Falk for Antisemitic Cartoon
Falk published on his website a cartoon showing a dog wearing a Jewish head covering, and with "USA" written on its body, urinating on a depiction of justice and devouring a bloody skeleton, for which he was condemned by British Prime Minister David Cameron and other public figures, including UN rights chief Navi Pillay.
UK Condemned Falk for Endorsing Antisemitic Book "The Wandering Who"
Falk's cover endorsement of a virulently antisemitic book entitled "The Wandering Who" was condemned by the British Foreign Office.
Falk Accused Israel of Planning "Palestinian Holocaust"
In 2007, Falk accused Israel of planning a "Palestinian Holocaust."
U.N. Chief Condemned Falk for 9/11 Conspiracy Theories
Falk has become one of the world's most high-profile supporters of 9/11 conspiracy theorists, lending his name to those who accuse the U.S. government of orchestrating the destruction of the Twin Towers as a pretext to launch wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He promotes the writings of David Ray Griffin, a disciple and close friend of Mr. Falk who has produced 12 books describing the World Trade Center attack as "an inside job."
Falk contributed the Foreword to Griffin's 2004 book "The New Pearl Harbor," where he praised the author's "patience," "fortitude," "courage," and "intelligence." In turn, Griffin credits Falk for getting the book published.
Falk has repeatedly appeared on the "
TruthJihad.com" show of Kevin Barrett, a 9/11 conspiracy theorist and Holocaust skeptic who rails against the "ethnic Jews" who he says run Washington and the media, a show on which Falk has endorsed Barrett's "good work" while also praising Iranian tyrant Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
In 2011, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took the floor of the Human Rights Council to issue an unprecedented condemnation of Mr. Falk's 9/11 remarks, saying they were "preposterous" and "an affront to the memory of the more than 3,000 people who died in that tragic terrorist attack."
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice denounced Falk's 9/11 remarks as "despicable and deeply offensive," condemned his "one-sided and politicized approach," deplored his comments for being "so noxious that it should finally be plain to all that he should no longer continue in his position," and noted that "the cause of human rights will be better advanced without Mr. Falk and the distasteful sideshow he has chosen to create."
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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).
