E-mails reveal: 'Belgium made sure Saudis knew it voted regime onto U.N. women’s rights commission'

Belgian Foreign Min Reynders on the right

Leaked e-mails: Belgium made sure Saudis knew it voted regime onto U.N. women’s rights commission. (UN Watch).

Scandal: internal emails reveal that Belgium instructed its diplomats to vote Saudi Arabia onto the U.N. women’s rights commission — and to make sure the fundamentalist regime knew of Belgium’s support.

New elements calling Belgian FM Reynders into question.

April 28, 2017 – At least nine hours passed between the time when the cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was informed of the request of a vote at the United Nations Commission for Women’s Rights and the time when it was answered, as confirmed Friday by the Ecologists’ party, based on internal emails.

According to the Green Party, the Belgian delegation to the United Nations in New York informed the cabinet of Didier Reynders on April 9 at 12:33 a.m. of the request for a vote from the United Stations about the entry of Saudi Arabia into the commission. The response was sent at 3:34 p.m. Uncertainty remains about the way the time delay should be considered, but at the very least, nine hours had passed.

“This gives a false image of the foreign office”

According to these documents, the cabinet’s reply, written in the first person, mentions the following elements. The “clean slate” procedures should be followed and Belgium should therefore provide its support to the candidates for the various positions during the secret vote. Furthermore, the delegation was requested to inform the various candidates, including Saudi Arabia, of this support if possible.

According to the minutes from a meeting that took place at the foreign office yesterday (see the tweet from Kristof Calvo below), the administration complained about the communication about this affair and implied that Reynders was indeed aware of it. “Some press information insinuates that our Permanent Mission in New York may have acted on its own initiative, and that the Ministry may have not been aware of it. This give a false image of the foreign office as a completely uncontrolled organization.” Read the full story here.

Update :  

Belgian FM @dreynders: We voted Saudis onto UN women's rights commission to try and make them into better feminists.https://t.co/WDMB3HDHcQ pic.twitter.com/Pu1h4A7YtP

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) May 1, 2017

                          Hmmm.......Didier Reynders met Saudi Prince sought by Interpol

Who's Who at the UN........See below