Against the opposition of human rights experts from the United States, Britain, France, Canada, Italy and Israel, a special, confidential report accusing the Soviet Union, Iraq and other countries of anti-Semitic bias and other human rights violations has been suppressed here by the United Nations Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.
The report was an annex to a special study, dealing with the current status of human rights in all countries around the world, prepared by the Israeli expert on the subcommission, Tel Aviv District Judge Zeev W. Zeltner. As rapporteur, Judge Zeltner is one of the three officers of the subcommission’s 19th annual session, due to conclude three weeks of deliberations tomorrow.
The group’s parent body, the Human Rights Commission, had requested the subcommission to submit a full report on the status of human rights. Three weeks ago, the subcommission passed on the task to Judge Zeltner. Last week, when the 18-member subcommission reached debate on Judge Zeltner’s study, which included the annex, the Soviet expert on the group, Evgeny Nasinovsky, accused Judge Zeltner of being “incompetent” and of having prepared a study including “a pack of lies.”
The Russian called for suppression of the annex to the Zeltner study, dealing with the situation in the USSR, Iraq and other countries. He denounced a group of non-governmental organizations whose separate reports had been cited by Judge Zeltner, including the International League for the Rights of Man, of which the American Jewish Committee is the American affiliate.
Clyde Ferguson, the United States expert on the group, and John P. Humphrey, of Canada, vigorously opposed Mr. Nasinovsky’s call for suppression of the annex. However, the USSR was backed in its move by the representatives of Egypt, Sudan, India, Poland, Kenya, Mexico and Turkey.
The final vote on suppression was carried in the 18-member body by a ballot of 8-6, with four abstentions. As a result of this vote, the annex to the Zeltner report does not officially exist any longer, and will not appear in any official U.N. records. Heretofore, only about 50 copies of the document have been distributed on a confidential basis, being furnished only to members of the subcommission, some of their aides, and selected members of the U.N. Secretariat.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
