Farce: Venezuelan Dictator Gets Standing Ovation at UN Rights Council

UN Watch spearheads global protest of 50 NGOs, press conference, addresses rally

Text taken from UN Watch

Following the special UN Human Rights Council session awarded on October 28th to PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Venezuela was able to demand and obtain the same monologue format -- with no rights of reply -- for its president Nicolas Maduro, who got a standing ovation as he launched into a 40-minute rant on Thursday. [Thank you UN Watch for not allowing this outrage from going unanswered.]

UN Watch spearheaded the global opposition to Maduro's visit:

• UN Watch organized a Joint Appeal which became the global rallying cry against the Maduro visit, signed by 50 leading Venezuelan figures, including Lilian Titori, wife of jailed opposition leader Leopolodo Lopez, and international human rights organizations. UN Watch delivered the appeal to key UN ambassadors in Geneva, building pressure not to allow Maduro to speak without any other voices.
• On the day of the speech, UN Watch held a press conference featuring Julieta Lopez, aunt of Leopoldo Lopez, and Venezuelan student protest leader Eusebio Costa, in a packed room including journalists from the New York Times, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Agence Télégraphique Suisse, Spanish news agency EFE and Geneva's Le Temps. See media stories below.
• UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer addressed a protest rally of Venezuelan human rights activists, held in front of the UN and drawng the ire of the Venezuelan government.
• RESULT: 
• Under pressure, both the UNHRC president and the High Commissioner cited Maduro's poor human rights record while introducing him, and his regime's refusal to admit any UNHRC investigators.
• World media exposed Venezuela's abysmal record.