By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 4 -- Iran trashed, and the US spring to the defense of, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center in the UN's Committee on NGOs on February 3.
Ignoring admonishments that it was taking too much time, Iran's representative read into the record a 2006 Boston Globe article that the IHRDC received $1 million of the US's $3.5 million for democratization in Iran. The US representative broke in with a point of order. And then it was over.
In the abruptly cut off session, Iran didn't mention a 2009 article that the Obama Administration was cutting the funding. As of 2011, the IHRDC is said to receive 40% of its funding from the US and Canada. An Inner City Press correspondent's summary of the Q&A, different from the UN's more diplomatic and air-brushed version, is below.
Earlier in the week, Morocco opposed a Swiss-based Western Sahara human rights group, using procedural tactics concerning the law of NGOs in Switzerland, and a rule that an applicant must have a certificate more than two years old in order to apply for consultative status with the UN. But in Switzerland, as Cuba pointed out, NGOs do not have to register.
When a group for the disappeared in Algeria appeared to answer questions, Burundi asked why the representative why focus on the disappeared? Because my child was disappeared in 1997, came the answer. There was silence. Then Cuba asked for a delay, noting that the group's submissions were only in French. The Cuban delegate apologized for not knowing this language of diplomacy, while noting that he does speak Hungarian.
A group for the indigenous in Asia mentioned that it was working with refugees from Myanmar -- one wondered if this would block the group. The Association of War Affected Women of Sri Lanka was grilled by Cuba regarding whether its funding is “sustainable.”
The new way of opposing NGOs in the UN is on procedural grounds, by asking more and more questions, challenging certificates. Iran came right out and said that the IHRDC is a US-funded group trying for regime change in Iran. The group, in the 30 seconds given it, denied it, saying "We don't hold seminars to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran."