Wiesenthal Centre Commends Council of Europe and OECD Suspension of Russian Representation

March 12, 2022

Paris — Dr. Shimon Samuels, Wiesenthal Centre’s Director for International Relations, congratulated Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe - a 47-state pan-European human rights organization - for the decision to suspend Russian representation rights, following its invasion of Ukraine.

 

Euractiv.com quoted the Russian Federation news agency TASS’ claim:

“Russia will not participate with these NATO and EU countries... Let them enjoy every communication with each other without Russia.”

 

The Centre similarly commended Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its “suspension of the participation of Russia and Belarus in OECD bodies... (and) to further strengthen support to the democratically elected Government of Ukraine, including to reinforce recovery and reconstruction.”

Samuels listed the Centre’s correspondence with other organizations to which it is affiliated:

- Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, based in Strasbourg.

- Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, based in Brussels.

- Helga Schmid, Secretary-General of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), based in Vienna.

- Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, based in Paris.

- Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva.

 In this last case, many of the UN Human Rights Council voting States are close to the Russian Federation.

“Please note in attachment, the Council of Europe Conference of NGOs ‘Call in support of the Ukrainian People’ - which is also promoted by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre - Europe”... 

"Our Russian friends and colleagues must not be held responsible for the work of a tyrant. We are with them in their agony," concluded Samuels.

For further information contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).