FIRST ON FOX — The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) abruptly cut off a video statement when the speaker mentioned the fate of Ariel and Kfir Bibas.
The incident took place during an “Interactive Dialogue” regarding the UNHRC’s consideration of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s report on “the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice.”
During an “Interactive Dialogue” experts are allowed to speak to the council about human rights issues being discussed during the regular session.
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Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 26, 2025. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)
Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust Director Anne Bayefsky says she submitted a video statement to UNHRC, but was cut off after just a few seconds. President of the U.N. Human Rights Council Jürg Lauber stopped the video and declared that Bayefsky had used inappropriate language.
Bayefsky begins by saying “The world now knows Palestinian savages murdered 9-month-old baby Kfir,” and is almost immediately cut off by Lauber.
“Sorry, I have to interrupt,” Lauber abruptly said as the video of Bayefsky was paused. Lauber briefly objected to the “language” used in the video, but then allowed it to continue. After a few more seconds, the video was shut off entirely. Lauber reiterated that “the language that’s used by the speaker cannot be tolerated,” adding that it “exceeds clearly the limits of tolerance and respect.”
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Bayefsky told Fox News Digital exclusively that U.N.-accredited NGOs are required to give transcripts and videos one day in advance of the “Interactive Dialogue.” She believes the U.N. “stage managed” the incident, as the council had advanced access to her video and a transcript and knew what she would say.
U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Spokesperson Pascal Sim did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Bayefsky’s allegations.
“It’s a total farce. There is no free speech at the U.N. for any NGO that calls out U.N. antisemitism. This is not harmless censorship. This is a war that the U.N. has declared against Jews, against Americans, and against free speech,” Bayefsky told Fox News Digital.
Bayefsky explained to Fox News Digital that she started her video this way because she was allotted 1 minute and 30 seconds to address the council and wanted to “get right to the point.”
UN Human Rights Council President Jurg Lauber, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stand for a minute of silence in tribute to the victims of human rights violations, at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on Feb. 24, 2025. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
“The actual horrors of the extermination of the Bibas babies by Palestinians was off limits and pointing out the UN responsibility for their murder and torture was ‘inappropriate,’” Bayefsky said.
Bayefsky also contends that another part of her video may have been to blame for the censorship.
“What U.N. officials knew, and the audience didn’t, was that in my statement I demanded accountability for High Commissioner Türk himself – one of the world’s primary drivers of Palestinian terrorism and antisemitism on a global scale,” Bayefsky told Fox News Digital.
In a transcript of the blocked video shared with Fox News Digital, Bayefsky calls Türk a “High Commissioner for Human Wrongs” and says he has “the blood of Jewish innocents on his hands.”
Critics, including Bayefsky, have slammed Türk for putting out a statement on Oct. 7, 2023, that appeared to equate Hamas’ attacks with Israel’s response. In the statement, Türk says he was “shocked and appalled” by the violent attacks before going on to condemn Israel.
In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment on Bayefsky’s video being cut off, Sim said that “the words of the President of the Human Rights Council speak for themselves.”
During the same hearing, Qatar was allowed to accuse Israel of being a “torturer,” using “collective punishment,” and attempting “to impose Judaism” in the West Bank and Gaza without any evidence or interruption. Multiple speakers were also allowed to accuse Israel of carrying out a genocide, also with no objection from Lauber.
Additionally, Defense for Children International, which describes itself as a “local Palestinian child rights organization,” claimed that “Israeli soldiers know that they can kill Palestinian children with impunity and not face any professional or legal consequences.” No evidence was offered, and the council did not object to the accusations.
View inside the U.N. Human Rights Council chamber in Geneva, Switzerland. (Getty Images)
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“We know exactly why I was censored by knowing what the UN did not censor during this very same ‘dialogue,’” Bayefsky told Fox News Digital. “There was no censorship, no cut microphones, no problem saying Israel was committing ‘genocide against Palestinians’… The blood libels and incitement to hate and more violence was voluminous. And that was all just fine with the U.N.”
Bayefsky says it’s time for the U.S. to cut off funding to the OHCHR.
While President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order prohibiting the U.S. from participating in UNHRC, it did not address funding to OHCHR, Bayefsky explained.
“The bulk of American funding for the U.N. in this context is for Türk and his kingdom at the ‘U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’… If ever Americans needed one more reason not to pay another cent for U.N.-driven lethal antisemitism, this is it.”
