Geneva NGO accuses Beijing and Moscow of blocking funding at UN

UN: NGO accuses Beijing and Moscow of blocking funding Keystone-SDA

A Geneva-based NGO is accusing a group of countries, including China and Russia, of exploiting negotiations at the United Nations in New York to cut funding for human rights mechanisms. In a report published on Tuesday, it calls for the reform of these bodies.

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From 2019 to 2024, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) conducted dozens of discussions with diplomats and officials and analysed confidential internal documents.

According to the NGO’s findings, China is trying to recover the audit of finances linked to the Human Rights Council and is using its seat on the oversight committee to obtain information about the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In the UN General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, it “is the most hostile, followed by Russia”, an NGO official told the press. Its influence has also increased on administrative and budgetary issues.

While Moscow is openly more “disruptive” in these circles, China is discreet, the report adds. The director of the NGO’s New York office deplores the fact that “Russian and Chinese diplomats have exploited the UN’s budget negotiations” for their own interests and “to protect their allies from any criticism, all to the detriment of human rights”.

At the Fifth Committee, the two countries often put forward extreme proposals, according to ISHR. They obstructed all efforts by other countries not to approve the cuts requested by the consultative body. In total, 25 attempts to reduce funding for human rights mechanisms in Belarus have been identified. A dozen have also been observed for Iran and Russia.

A request to the countries of the South

Among the cuts planned by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in his reform project, the human rights component, which is already regularly underfunded, is more affected than the economic development and peace areas.

Another concern is the attitude of US President Donald Trump. The United States could lose its voting rights at the General Assembly because of its late payments. This approach is affecting the organisation’s room for manoeuvre. “The United States is jeopardising the UN’s entire system for defending fundamental rights”, according to Phil Lynch, Executive Director of ISHR.

China is paying at the last minute. According to the rules, it recovers credits at the end of the year from its next financial contributions, as its envelope is not fully used because of this time lag, deplores the NGO. The ISHR says that this principle should be reversed. It calls on the countries of the South to regain control. According to the NGO, the UN could lose up to 40% of its operational funds this year.

Translated from French by DeepL/jdp

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