'The U.N. Is a Massive Club for Dictators'

The Human Rights Foundation is mobilizing a global band of activists to fight authoritarianism in China, Iran, Russia, and beyond.

Jim Epstein, Nick Gillespie, and Danielle Thompson | 11.29.2022 11:00 AM

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"The United Nations is a massive club for dictators," says Thor Halvorssen, the founder and CEO of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), a nonprofit founded in 2005. "The rich, powerful, and corrupt get together in Davos. Well, some of the world's bravest people get together at the Oslo Freedom Forum."

On October 3, 2022, the HRF convened the Oslo Freedom Forum, a one-day conference at Manhattan's Town Hall, bringing together political activists from around the world to call attention to rising authoritarianism in China, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and other countries.

There were no wonkish policy panels or PowerPoint slides cluttered with data and footnotes. The conference featured instead a series of TED Talk–style speeches, delivered without notes and designed to forge an emotional connection between the audience and the presenters.

Among the speakers: Anna Kwok, who worked as an anonymous online organizer during Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests of 2019, which took place as China consolidated power over the once-free city; Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights activist and lawyer based in Kyiv; Leopoldo López, a Venezuelan human rights activist who spent five years in prison after organizing massive protests against the government in 2014; and Masih Alinejad, an exiled Iranian journalist and activist who helped bring attention to protests against mandatory hijab laws in her home country even before the murder of Mahsa Amini drew international outrage.

HRF's chairman, former World Chess Champion and arch-critic of Vladimir Putin, Garry Kasparov, also addressed the gathering, telling the audience that Ukraine "is not just a battlefield but a frontline of the total war against freedom and tyranny."

Reason spent the day backstage talking to the participants and organizers about the Human Rights Foundation's mission of building a united community to counter rising authoritarianism around the globe. The speakers argued for a range of actions from free nations to expand human rights, ranging from heightened diplomatic pressure to increased military aid to sanction regimes that would cut countries such as China and Saudi Arabia off from the global economy.

"People say, 'You oppose dictatorships, you are a neocon, you want to go to war with these dictatorships,'" says HRF's Halvorssen. "I'm not asking for boots on the ground, I'm not asking for an invasion of any country. The problems of Venezuela will be solved by Venezuelans. The problems of Russia will be solved by Russians. What we should do is at least encourage them." He continues, "What always occurs, there comes a point when the men holding guns at the people decide, 'I'm not going to do this anymore.'"

Produced by Jim Epstein and Nick Gillespie; narrated by Gillespie; written and shot by Epstein; edited by Danielle Thompson; post-production assistance by John Osterhoudt; audio post-production by Ian Keyser.

Photos: Cao Sanchez/Polaris/Newscom; Yury Martyanov/Kommersant Photo / Polaris/Newscom; Kommersant Photo Agency/Kommersant/Newscom; Katherine Li/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom; Katherine Li/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom; Human Rights Foundation; Human Rights Foundation; Polaris/Newscom; Lan Hongguang / Xinhua News Agency/Newscom; UPPA/ZUMApress/Newscom; Abaca Press/Balkis Press/Abaca/Sipa USA/Newscom; HO/Newscom; LONG WEI/FEATURECHINA/Newscom; TOM WALKER/UPI/Newscom; Ernesto Mastrascusa/EFE/Newscom; CRISTIAN HERNANDEZ / Xinhua News Agency/Newscom; MIGUEL GUTIERREZ/EFE/Newscom; Boris Vergara / Xinhua News Agency/Newscom; Ukraine Presidency/SIPA/Newscom; MIGUEL GUTIERREZ/EFE/Newscom; Valentin Yegorshin/TASS/Newscom; Genin-Hahn-Marechal/ABACA/Newscom; Abaca Press/SalamPix/Abaca/Sipa USA/Newscom; Farnood/SIPA/Newscom; Stringer/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom; Jaap Arriens/Sipa USA/Newscom; Social Media/ZUMA press/Newscom; Rouzbeh Fouladi/ZUMA Press/Newscom; PRESIDENT.IR/UPI/Newscom; Panoramic/ZUMA Press/Newscom; April Brady/Project on Middle East Democracy, CC by 2.0, via Flickr; Depo Photos/ZUMA Press/Newscom; Saudi press Agency/UPI/Newscom; Abaca Press/Balkis Press/Abaca/Sipa USA/Newscom; State Department/Sipa USA/Newscom; Rayner Pena/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom; Pavel Golovkin/Pool/ZUMA Press/Newscom

Footage: Hong Kong footage by Edwin Lee

Music: "Seeking Truth" by The David Roy Collective via Artlist; "Passion" by ANBR via Artlist; "Take Up Your Cross" by The David Roy Collective via Artlist; "Come Back Home" by Ardie Son via Artlist; "A Perfect Storm" by Ardie Son via Artlist; "Intrepid" by Brianna Tam via Artlist; "The New World" by Ardie Son via Artlist; "A Tender Heart" by The David Roy Collective via Artlist

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Eeyore 2 years ago

A cartel of power hungry people cooperating together for their own benefit at the expense of everyone else.

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2. TJJ2000 2 years ago (edited)
  
  Just ask any Democrat why they cannot setup their utopia right-now w/o Gov-Guns. Member-subscribed universal healthcare. Member-Subscribed Wind/Solar mandates, Member-subscribed wealth redistribution, etc, etc, etc… They have ZERO/NONE/NODDA excuse for not JUST DOING IT….
  
  Why are the Gov-GUNS needed???
  To TAKE from others. (armed-theft)
  
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3. TheReEncogitationer 2 years ago (edited)
  
  Fret not. The U.N. One-Worlders and the W.E.F. Bug-Eaters don’t hold a candle to these sexy people! Would! Would! Would! Would! 🙂
  
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4. ObviouslyNotSpam 2 years ago
  
  Are you describing FIFA?
  
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Quo Usque Tandem 2 years ago

Just how often have “ the men holding the guns” relinquished them without a fight?

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1. flag58 2 years ago
  
  They Don't.
  They just change out their leaders.
  
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2. Rossami 2 years ago
  
  Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
  George Washington
  Julius Nyrere
  Juan Carlos I
  maybe Pinochet
  probably a few others I've missed - across all of human history.
  
  It happens but it's distressingly rare.
  
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  1. Unicorn Abattoir 2 years ago
    
    Soviet Union?
    
    Log in to Reply
    1. Stuck in California 2 years ago
      
      I don't think Gorbachev did it purposefully. Glastnost was a byproduct of the times, he had no other palatable choices.
      
      Log in to Reply
Earth-based Human Skeptic 2 years ago

What's the first rule of U.N. Club?

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1. TheReEncogitationer 2 years ago
  
  If they had successfully passed The New World Information Order in the 1980s, it would have been: "Don't Talk About U.N. Club.".
  
  Fortunately, even pro-U.N. media outlets didn't stand for that.
  
  Log in to Reply
2. Roberta 2 years ago
  
  Duck!
  
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Fats of Fury 2 years ago

Be an awful shame if someone accidentally dropped a bomb in Davos when the globalist megalomaniac totalitarians meet.

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1. Dillinger 2 years ago
  
  Max. Scorpio.
  
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TJJ2000 2 years ago

Human Right is basically LIMITS on Government Power...

...Because they are inherent and not *entitlements* from Government Power.... Inherent rights aren't granted; they are preserved (i.e. They're defended *defensive*; not granted *aggressive* by Gov-GUNS).

The ONLY job of USA Gov-GUNS is to ensure Individual Liberty and Justice for all.

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1. TheReEncogitationer 2 years ago
  
  Very correct.
  
  The U.N. Charter on Human Rights, of course, is anathema to the concept of Natural Human Rights embodied in The U.S. Bill of Rights as well as the Libertarian Philosophy.
  
  To the U.N., Human Rights are creatures of the State, to be taken away when State interests command it.
  
  To Libertarianism and The Bill of Rights, Human Rights are inherent in Man's nature as a Rational Animal who must think, work. and keep and use the results in order to live and thrive.
  
  To the U.N., Human Rights are entitlements to objects, such as food, shelter, health care, a "living wage," etc.
  
  To Libertarianism and The Bill of Rights, to claim these things as rights is a demand for slave labor. Needs are not a claim and limit upon rights, only other legitimate rights are.
  
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  1. ObviouslyNotSpam 2 years ago
    
    Many declarations of human rights fall into the trap of "freedom to", versus "freedom from", but there is nothing in the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights which even suggests that "Human Rights are creatures of the State, to be taken away when State interests command it," as you so vociferously allege.
    
    Article 01 begins, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
    
    Sure, by the time it gets to the 20th-30th Articles, the UDHR is promising everyone a chicken in every pot, which is clearly silly and impossible to realize in the real world, but its overreach is also clearly not on the side of making human rights conditional upon the State's whims.
    
    Doesn't fit the narrative?
    
    Log in to Reply
    1. TJJ2000 2 years ago
      
      +1000 Well Stated, "fall into the trap of “freedom to”, versus “freedom from”"
      
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Utkonos 2 years ago

“The UN is a massive club for dictators.”
In other breaking news, fire is a heat source.

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1. TheReEncogitationer 2 years ago (edited)
  
  Though they are far too socially conservative and conspiratorial for me, the old John Birch Society slogan had it right:
  
  “Get the U.S. Out of the U.N. and Get the U.N. Out of the U.S.!”
  
  Log in to Reply
  1. Utkonos 2 years ago
    
    They’re headquartered in NYC. Does that count as being in the US? Discuss!
    
    Log in to Reply
    1. TheReEncogitationer 2 years ago
      
      While unfortunately, New York City(?!?!?) is still a part of the U.S., the U.N. Secretariat Building is on land that was donated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to the U.N Organization and by treaty is technically extraterritorial from the U.S., though most Local, State, and Federal Laws still apply on the site (barring claims of Diplomatic Immunity.)
      
      For more clear-as-mud details, here's the Wiki Page on the subject:
      
      United Nations Secretariat Building--Wikipedia
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Secretariat_Building
      
      ("Secretariat" is not to be confused with the pantomime horse who co-starred on The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson.)
      🙂
      
      Craig Ferguson--The Story Behind Secretariat
      https://youtu.be/8OJ4s5jY76c
      
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rloquitur 2 years ago

"The United Nations is a massive club for dictators."
And in other news, water is wet and beer tastes good.

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Its_Not_Inevitable 2 years ago

How else you gonna redistribute all the wealth into the correct pockets?

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mad.casual 2 years ago

"If you sit down at the ~~poker~~ UN negotiating table and can't spot the ~~sucker~~ most brutal dictator, get up. You're the ~~sucker~~ brutal dictator." - ~~Old Saul~~ mad.casual

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1. Unicorn Abattoir 2 years ago
  
  A nice twist on "Everybody's a gangster until a real gangster walks into the room". -Tony Cannoli, in "Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2"
  
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Social Justice is neither 2 years ago

This really needs a rebuttal from Ron Bailey telling us how the UN's climate panel is different and they're really looking out for the everyday people of the world.

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1. Zeb 2 years ago
  
  I haven't kept up. Is he really saying things like that? I thought he was more on the Bjorn Lomborg sort of position.
  
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  1. Social Justice is neither 2 years ago (edited)
    
    He does full articles taking everything from the UN at face value and without rebuttal including their recommendations and expected outcomes with at most a one line note in innovation and adaptation in the article.
    
    Log in to Reply
2. Utkonos 2 years ago
  
  Maybe we can get an obnoxious schoolgirl to scream at them about human rights?
  
  Log in to Reply
  1. TheReEncogitationer 2 years ago
    
    Why do that when the Human Rights Foundation speakers are not obnoxious, fully-grown, legal by U.S. standards, and sexy? We can all scream at the world's dictators, then have an after-party with more things to scream about! 😉
    
    Log in to Reply
    1. Utkonos 2 years ago
      
      I’d love be to see Greta try her Scold act with Xi, Khamenei or best of all Kim Ding Il Ing!
      
      Log in to Reply
JohnZ 2 years ago

"It's all a big club and you ain't in it." George Carlin

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mtrueman 2 years ago

"What always occurs, there comes a point when the men holding guns at the people decide, 'I'm not going to do this anymore.'"

It was just such a decision on the part of the Iranian army in 1979 that led to the Islamic revolution. The army finally joined the small business men, the communists, the islamists, the intellectuals and the students in opposing the Shah. He fell from power shortly after.

" The problems of Venezuela will be solved by Venezuelans. The problems of Russia will be solved by Russians. What we should do is at least encourage them."

Encouraging Russians and Venezuelans by joining a bunch of other CIA sponsored spooks and participating at a talk shop in Oslo?

How about China where people are taking to the streets and opposing their oppressive government directly. Real people, thousands of them, with skin in the game, not 'anonymous internet organizers.' Such real people have brought down regimes in China down through the ages, and the government is properly scared of them and their power to effect change. Anonymous internet organizers? Not so much.

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'The U.N. Is a Massive Club for Dictators'

The Human Rights Foundation is mobilizing a global band of activists to fight authoritarianism in China, Iran, Russia, and beyond.

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