GLS Student Delivers Remarks Before UN Human Rights Council

Benjamin Reich (GLS ‘21), a rising junior in Global Liberal Studies, delivered remarks before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, representing the NGO where he has been interning, United Nations Watch. UN Watch is a Geneva-based NGO that works to monitor the United Nations for accountability, bias, and misdirected politicization. It provides a platform to activists who are dissidents of their authoritarian governments and/or working towards democratic systems of government for their respective countries.

At the beginning of the summer, Benjamin assisted former Canadian PM Stephen Harper, former Miss Universe Iraq Sarah Idan, and Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá on planning and executing the annual UN Watch gala dinner. In July, he had the opportunity to observe the proceedings of the 41st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva and to represent UN Watch, speaking in front of the Council on a topic of his choice. Due to his interest in the Middle East, he gave a speech on the current Turkish government's authoritarianism in regards to the ongoing Cyprus conflict. Reich says, “GLS provided me with a robust curriculum that has helped me understand the people and ideas from which "Human Rights" and the United Nations system stem. The personalized structure of GLS has helped me foster relationships that cultivated my knowledge and refined my processes of thinking. My time at UN Watch has greatly expanded my knowledge on the workings of international cooperation and the work that needs to be done inside and outside of the United Nations system to ensure that the international community sticks to its own prescribed standards.”