We need this kind of whistleblower. So it is disheartening to see that the U.N. fired an employee for calling out blatant corruption. Former U.N. Employee Emmy Reilly discovered that the U.N. has been giving China a list of dissidents who were protesting China’s treatment of the Uighurs regularly.
“Emma Reilly was dismissed within 24 hours of her giving an interview to the leading French newspaper Le Monde. It was Reilly’s case that alerted many to the growing influence of China within the U.N. system.
Reilly notified her U.N. bosses when she learned that the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) — on the request of China — handed over names of dissidents who were coming to the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Reilly said this resulted in pressure from Beijing on the dissidents not to make the trip.
She and others have claimed the Chinese authorities threatened their families, which in some cases resulted in arrests, torture and in one case, a person was reported to have died in Chinese detention.”
“Beijing intends to both silence critics and reshape international standards in its favor, particularly the definition of human rights. It no longer wants to relate to freedoms such as the freedom to express oneself but wants to adopt concepts that are more favorable to it, such as economic development. And this takes care also of the human rights violations along the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) or, in general, along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The genocide of Baloch or Uighurs, under this narrative, is a small price to be paid for development.”
How is this neutral on the U.N.’s part? The U.N. just put a target on Reilly’s back and did so because she was speaking up for human rights. She also uncovered that it’s been going on for years. Things like this are why the U.N. is often treated like a joke.