(Ottawa) Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York condemns “grossly biased and anti-Semitic comments” by a human rights investigator from the international organization.
Posted at 5:40 p.m.
Bob Rae said in a Twitter post that comments by Miloon Kothari, who sits on a UN commission of inquiry set up in response to last year’s 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, were “a disgrace to institutions supposed to be dedicated to the rule of law”.
Kothari drew attention for remarks he made during a podcast interview Monday on Mondoweiss, a news and analysis site that says it offers an underrepresented perspective on Palestinian rights in its coverage of the region and related US foreign policy.
In the interview, Kothari questioned why Israel is a member of the UN and said he was discouraged by social media which he said is controlled by ‘the Jewish lobby’ and non-governmental organizations “specific”.
The Center for Israel-Jewish Relations Advisory (CIJA), an advocacy group, urged the Canadian government to condemn what it called the appointment of biased members to the commission of inquiry, saying Mr. Kothari had flagrantly violated the UN rules on impartiality.
Mr. Kothari, who was the first UN special rapporteur on adequate housing, is one of three members of the commission of inquiry supported by the UN Human Rights Council.
Ambassador Michèle Taylor, who is the US permanent representative to the UN Human Rights Council, also condemned Mr Kothari’s “scandalous and anti-Semitic remarks” and called on Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, to denounce them as well.