Emma Reilly
New non-biographical article about the event to replace this one: Draft:Allegation of UN sharing names of dissidents with the Chinese Communist Party - Wikipedia
- OK, understood (BTW there is an article about Reilly in French Wikipedia).
Emma Reilly is an Irish former human rights officer at United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and whistleblower.[1] Reilly came to prominence over her accusations that the United Nations shared the names of Uyghur dissidents with the Chinese government[1][2]. These allegations surfaced for the first time publicly in early February 2017[3] [4] [5]. The UN denied these accusations on 2 February 2017.[6]
In subsequent years the story attracted significant media attention including in Le Monde[7],Politico [8] Newsweek[9], Fox News[10][11] , The South China Morning Post[12], The Sydney Morning Herald [13], The Daily Telegraph[14], The Irish Times[15], The Sunday Guardian[16] and two widely viewed interviews with Maajid Nawaz[17] [18].
Allegations of Sharing Dissident Names with the Chinese Communist Party
During the spring of 2013 Emma received a request from the Chinese diplomacy for the confirmation of Chinese dissidents that were planning to attend the Human Rights Council. This list included Rebiya Kadeer and Dolkun Isa, human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng. Reilly suggested that they refuse the request as was customary for Turkey, to her surprise the UN complied with the Chinese request. Reilly has released extensive primary source material including redacted emails showing the UN providing the names of Dolkun Isa and He Geng on the same day the request was made[19].
Consequences of Sharing Dissident Names
It is unknown if there were any direct consequences of the UN’s actions, however there are multiple accusations that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sought to quell dissent by pursuing the named dissidents and their family members. Dolkun Isa's mother Ayhan Memet died while in detention [20], Isa held the CCP responsible for his mother's death saying: “Killing one’s mother to retaliate against her son’s peaceful human rights activism is the most cowardly form of retaliation by any authoritarian government.". On the allegations the UN shared his name with the CCP Isa is quoted as saying: "It’s very disappointing. The UN is slowly, slowly losing credibility and trust internationally"[21]
Similarly Noble Peace Prize nominee Rebiya Kadeer was imprisoned in 1999 for allegedly endangering national security, she claims her family is frequently persecuted, her two sons are currently in jail[22], her sister died shortly after release from an internment camp [23]. The UN handed Isa and Kadeer's name to the CCP in 2013.
The UN has made a variety of internal and public statements in relation to handing of dissident names to the CCP. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric has said "No. We don’t agree with her description of our policies. Contrary to her claims, at no time has any activist been placed at risk by the human rights office’s practices of responding to inquiries from Member States requesting for confirmation of the names of activists accredited to attend the Human Rights Council sessions".[24]. Reilly has released redacted emails showing internally that the UN admits to the practice[19]
Reilly vs Secretary-General of the United Nations
Reilly was involved in numerous internal disputes within the UN most notably in 2019 when The United Nations Dispute Tribunal heard "Reilly vs Secretary-General of the United Nations" which under Judge Downing initially ruled partially in Reilly's favour.[25]. Downing claims he was dismissed from the UN before being able to hand down further judgements[13]. Downing's replacement subsequently ruled in the Secretary General's favour. Downing described his dismissal in the following terms: “It’s the sort of conduct that happens possibly following a coup – a coup d’etat – where people want to get rid of judges quickly”[13]
Whistleblower Status and Firing
Reilly was officially deemed a whistleblower by the UN on the 27th July 2020 in relation to her identification that the UN was sharing dissident names with the Chinese government and that UN websites incorrectly claimed Kate Gilmore held two master's degrees.[26] This review was found to be defective on the 4th of June 2021.[27] Reilly was fired on the 9th of November 2021 for engaging "in unauthorized communications with external parties in relation to issues concerning the official activities of the Organization"[28]. Reilly's sacking was condemned by the Whistleblower International Network[29]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cormaic, Ruadhán Mac. "China, the UN Human Rights Office and the Irish whistleblower". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
- ↑ "Interview: 'China wants to make sure that the Uyghur genocide is never discussed'". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
- ↑ "Does OHCHR Enable China's Harassment of Dissidents?". September 7, 2017.
- ↑ Newman, Alex (February 3, 2017). "UN Whistleblower: UN Gave Names of Dissidents to Communist China". The New American.
- ↑ "L'ONU accusée de livrer à Pékin les noms d'opposants chinois". Le Temps (in français). 2017-02-02. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
- ↑ "OHCHR | UN rights office categorically rejects claims it endangered NGOs". www.ohchr.org.
- ↑ "Emma Reilly, une lanceuse d'alerte seule contre les Nations unies". Le Monde.fr (in français). 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
- ↑ https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2022/03/21/the-problem-with-hypersonic-and-russias-attack-claim-00018946
- ↑ "The UN is giving the names of Uyghur dissidents to China | Opinion". Newsweek. 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
- ↑ Evansky, Ben (August 25, 2021). "UN said to be poised to ax whistleblower for exposing Chinese/UN wrongdoing". Fox News.
- ↑ "China exploiting influence at the United Nations: Report".
- ↑ "What to do when the UN human rights office may have violated human rights?". 13 December 2020.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Bagshaw, Josh Feldman, Eryk (March 21, 2022). "Australian judge accuses UN of 'coup d'etat' after dismissal from case involving Chinese dissidents". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ↑ Samuel, Henry (November 11, 2021). "UN shared names of Chinese dissidents with Beijing, says sacked whistleblower". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ↑ Cormaic, Ruadhán Mac. "China, the UN Human Rights Office and the Irish whistleblower". The Irish Times.
- ↑ "UN agency divulged dissenters' names to China, claims staffer". January 16, 2021.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/lbc/status/1322928964273348610
- ↑ https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1459540795753742342
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Evidence – UNintegrity".
- ↑ "Uyghur Exile Group Leader's Mother Died in Xinjiang Detention Center". Radio Free Asia.
- ↑ "What to do when the UN human rights office may have violated human rights?". 13 December 2020.
- ↑ "Profile: Rebiya Kadeer". 8 July 2009.
- ↑ "Sister of Uyghur Rights Advocate Rebiya Kadeer Confirmed to Have Died After Release From Detention". Radio Free Asia.
- ↑ "Whistleblower Rejects UN Denial It Handed Names of Dissidents to China". March 5, 2021.
- ↑ https://www.un.org/en/internaljustice/files/undt/judgments/undt-2019-094.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ↑ https://unintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Ethics-finding-2020-redacted.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ↑ https://unintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Kinsella-email-2.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ↑ https://unintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021.11.09_Letter-to-Ms.-Emma-Reilly-OHCHR-1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ↑ "Civil Society Statement on the firing of UN human rights whistleblower Emma Reilly - Whistleblowing International Network". whistleblowingnetwork.org.
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