In a startling revelation, Emma Reilly, a former employee of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), has leveled damning accusations against the United Nations (UN), implicating a concerning relationship between the OHCHR and the Chinese government.
The UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee has unveiled written evidence as part of its inquiry into international relations within the multilateral system.
Reilly, acting as a whistleblower, has alleged that the OHCHR has been providing "dangerous 'favours'" to the Chinese government, asserting that these actions align with China's broader effort to manipulate the UN in its favor. The UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee issued a press release stating that Reilly's evidence suggests a "UN cover-up of special favours for China."
According to Reilly's claims, "during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals," Beijing allegedly bribed successive Presidents of the General Assembly, who held significant influence over the final texts presented to the Assembly. She further alleges that China imposes secret conditions on UN agencies, stipulating that funds provided may not be utilized in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Reilly's written evidence also includes allegations regarding the Chief of the Human Rights Council Branch in OHCHR, accusing them of secretly providing advance information to China on attending human rights activists. Additionally, Reilly claims that UN officials deliberately misled member states, including the UK delegation, about the UN policy of disclosing names to China without consent.
Furthermore, Reilly alleges that individuals whose names were shared with China faced severe repercussions, including arbitrary arrest, house arrest, disappearance, long prison terms, torture, and detention in concentration camps. She even asserts that in some instances, family members of NGO delegates were visited by Chinese police or subjected to Interpol red notices.
Moreover, Reilly alleges that "self-censorship extends to the Secretary-General," who reportedly acknowledged the difficulty in resolving her case due to the favors reported being accorded to China.
The evidence provided also suggests that reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the origins of COVID-19 were edited to downplay the possibility of a laboratory leak.
The submission from the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) echoes concerns about China's efforts to shape the multilateral system to align with its authoritarian worldview. Additionally, the FCDO highlights Russia's disruptive role within the multilateral system and Iran's obstructionist behavior within the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The inquiry, led by the Foreign Affairs Committee, aims to explore how various countries engage with multilateral organizations, either by influencing, circumventing, or obstructing them. This investigation follows the Committee's previous report, "In the room: the UK's role in multilateral diplomacy," which warned of autocratic states' attempts to co-opt multilateral organizations and redefine their principles.
