Maryam Al-Khawaja teaches UNESCO object lesson from “Legacies Of Human Rights Leadership And Struggles.”

Bahraini Activist Mariam Al-Khawaja Withdrew UNESCO Ceremony Over Honor to Israel’s Peres
23 October, 2012 – ABNA

Bahrain human rights defender Maryam Al-Khawaja has pulled out of a UNESCO human rights conference that is honoring her father, political prisoner Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, because the same event is honoring Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Amnesty International considers Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and other Bahrain rights activists held in prison “to be prisoners of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly” and has called for their immediate, unconditional release.

Maryam Al-Khawaja was scheduled to speak in her father’s place at the 13th Annual UNESCO Chair & Institute of Comparative Human Rights Conference at the University of Connecticut on 23 October, titled “Legacies Of Human Rights Leadership And Struggles.”

“Whilst I am honored that you chose my father, I am also utterly disappointed that you would honor him alongside a person who has been responsible for many human rights violations and should be put on trial, not honored,” Al-Khawaja wrote in an open letter to UNESCO, in her personal capacity, announcing her withdrawal.

Among the other handful of human rights “leaders” the conference will recognize is Shimon Peres whom the official program ridiculously claims “is widely regarded as a ‘dove,’ and a strong supporter of peace through economic cooperation.”

The stated purpose of the conference is “to educate ourselves about individuals who contributed to the expansion of the range of human rights we enjoy today by providing enlightened and ecumenical leadership.”

Maryam Al-Khawaja objected strongly to the inclusion of Peres in this category along with her father.

“My father always says that when it comes to human rights, there is no grey area, you both stand for human rights everywhere and against perpetrators of human rights violations or you do not,” Al-Khawaja wrote.

“Without any disrespect intended to your esteemed organization, and the important work you do around the world, as a human rights defender I must respectfully withdraw from this event as I cannot allow myself to take part in legitimizing a person who should be tried for human rights violations, not honored,” Al-Khawaja concluded. …more