Hillel Neuer Interviewed by Brazil’s Estadão
Click here to view the original article in Portuguese, published by Brazil’s leading newspaper Estadão on April 8, 2025.
By Paulo Rosenbaum
Estadão: Can you please tell our readers about your academic and professional career, your main motivations and what led you to become an internationally recognized human rights expert?
Hillel Neuer: I grew up in Montreal, Canada, raised in a strong Jewish home and in a Jewish school, and enriched by a neighborhood where cultures mixed easily-my neighbors were Chinese, Greek, Italian and Jamaican. I was always surrounded by different voices, different stories. That shaped my sense of the world early on.
My father worked as a lawyer for people who could not afford one. Many of my grandparents’ family members were murdered in the Holocaust. My home was full of books, debates, and stories-some joyful, some tragic, but all rooted in a deep awareness of history and justice. I knew injustice wasn’t theoretical-it was personal. From early on, I understood that freedom isn’t a guarantee-it’s something people lose, fight for, and often never get back.
At Concordia University in Montreal, along with my major in political science, I studied a great books program of philosophy, literature and art history, from the ancient Greeks until modernity. I fell in love with the big questions-what makes a society free? Why do some regimes collapse and others endure?
From there, I went on to law school at McGill, and encountered a great influence on my life and work, Professor Irwin Cotler, Canada’s former Justice Minister and one of the world’s most respected human rights lawyers. I took every course he taught and worked as his research assistant. But his impact began even earlier: I first saw him as a child, leading a protest in Montreal for the freedom of Jewish political prisoners in the Soviet Union. His passion, clarity, and moral courage left a lasting impression. In class, he didn’t just teach law-he made it feel like a calling. He challenged us to imagine leading a human rights organization. At the time, I thought it was just an exercise. But less than ten years later, I found myself doing exactly that. Cotler didn’t just teach generations of students-he inspired us to act, to speak out, and to believe that law, when guided by conscience, could truly change lives.
I then did graduate work on comparative constitutional law at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Along the way, I clerked at Israel’s Supreme Court, then practiced law in New York at a major firm. I worked on civil rights cases-including one involving racial discrimination in the U.S. military. That opened my eyes to how legal tools could be used to fight injustice, even inside powerful institutions.
But honestly, I always had a foot in advocacy. As a teenager, I wrote an article for my school paper criticizing the UN for its double standards. I was maybe 15. Years later, when I heard there was an opening at a small NGO in Geneva called UN Watch, I took a leap-and that leap became my life’s work.
At UN Watch, we stand up for people most of the world ignores-political prisoners in Venezuela, jailed women’s rights heroes in Iran, democracy activists from Hong Kong, whistleblowers from Russia. We’re a tiny team, but we amplify voices that authoritarian regimes try to silence.
One of our most important platforms is the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, where we bring oppressed dissidents from around the world-Uyghur survivors, North Korean defectors, Cuban artists-and give them the microphone.
Sometimes we’re the only ones saying what everyone else is afraid to say. When Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza was imprisoned for calling Putin a war criminal, we fought hard to keep his name in the public eye. When he was finally freed, he told us it made a difference-knowing people on the outside hadn’t forgotten him.
Or when I stood up in Geneva and denounced the UN for electing dictatorships like China and Cuba to the Human Rights Council. They tried to silence me. They cut my mic. But we didn’t stop-and our speeches have now been seen by millions online.
This work isn’t easy. It’s not always popular. And yes, I am the most hated man at the UN-but that’s fine. Because if the regimes in Tehran, Pyongyang, and Caracas are upset with me-along with some so-called activists from the West who are apologists for terrorists and anti-Western regimes-then I know I’m doing something right. At the end of the day, I do this because I believe in the power of truth-and in the idea that one voice, even a small one, can still make a difference.
Estadão: Which countries currently face the greatest challenges in relation to the most important violations of human rights and how do you see the actions of international organizations in relation to monitoring such violations? Is there effectiveness in investigating the complaints?
Hillel Neuer: Sadly, the the best indication of where to find the worst human rights abuses is to look at the world body that is meant to be investigating them: the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council. The members today include, for example, China, Cuba, Qatar, Sudan, and Vietnam.
That’s right: China’s Communist regime is a member. China is oppressing 1.5 billion people, a fifth of humanity, yet it has never once been criticized by any UN Human Rights Council resolution, inquiry, or special session. On the contrary, they sit on that body as a judge.
So my organization decided, at our recent 17th annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy-which we held right across the street from the Council headquarters in Geneva, and with our opening event held inside the UN headquarters itself-that the world needed to know the truth about China.
So we invited Times Wang as a witness. His father Wang Biingzhang is the father of the Chinese pro-democracy movement. They kidnapped him in June 2002, and he’s been languishing in prison for over two decades.
The world needs to know what China is doing to the Uyghurs. Rounding them up in camps. Attempting to eradicate their entire culture. So we also invited Rahima Mahmut, a Uyghur human rights activist, as one of our speakers.
The world needs to know what China is doing to the people of Tibet. Also trying to destroy their culture. So we had with us Namkyi as a witness. For protesting China’s oppression at the age of 15 they threw her in prison. She was there for three years. She managed to escape. She walked non-stop for 10 days and escaped to India.
And the world needs to know what the Chinese Communist Party is doing to Hong Kong. Once a great island of freedom in Asia, its democracy has been strangled by Beijing. So we invited Sebastien Lai to bear witness about his father Jimmy Lai, publisher of a major pro-democracy newspaper. A very successful man, Jimmy Lai could have escaped abroad, but he said no. He chose not to abandon ship, to stay with his people. They threw him in prison. He’s 77 years old.
Another regime sitting as a judge on the UNHRC is the police state of Cuba. The world needs to know what the Havana dictatorship is doing to its people. So we invited Osiris Puerto Terry. He happened to be standing next to the historic pro-democracy protests in July 2021, and he got shot multiple times.
Sudan also sits on the UNHRC. The world needs to know the truth about the war there that has just killed 150,000 people. 11 million people forced from their homes. So we invited Niemat Ahmadi, a leading women’s rights defender from Sudan, a survivor of the Sudan Genocide.
Vietnam sits on the UNHRC. A one-party Communist regime, the world needs to know about they silence all dissent including on social media. So we invited Van Trang Nguyen, who was targeted by the regime for his pro-democracy activism.
It’s hard to imagine, but Qatar, a country that sponsors terrorists and misogynistic regimes, is also sitting at the Human Rights Council. They throw money around, millions of dollars to all the international agencies, and the directors love to meet with them. Yet Qatar supports terrorists and misogynistic regimes, like the Taliban in Afghanistan.
At the United Nations, shockingly some want to normalize and recognize the Taliban. Listen to the words of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Muhammad from a little over a year ago : “I hope there is a day that we do recognize this government.”
So we invited Dr. Massouda Jalal, the pediatrician who served as Afghan Minister of Women’s Affairs, and her daughter, Husna Jalal, both of them now exiled, to tell the world about how women are treated under the Taliban. For their courageous leadership, thet received our Women’s Rights Award.
Eritrea just completed six years on the Council. In New York, they sit on the UN committee that oversees Human Rights NGOs. The world needs to know about the dictator, the country’s first and only president since 1993; he’s president for life. So we invited Betlehem Isaak, to tell us about her father Dawit Isaak, the world’s longest detained journalist, taken away in 2001, 24 years ago, for supporting democratic reform.
Astonishingly, in 2023, the Chair of the UN Human Rights Council Social Forum, was the Islamic Republic of Iran. The world needs to know who this regime is. So we brought three vitcims from Iran. We heard from Mahan Mehrabi, whose brother Mahmoud was arrested for taking part in the “Woman Life Freedom” protests. In May, he was sentenced to death – for the crime of criticizing the government on social media. And we heard testimony from Saman Pouryaghma-for protesting, the regime shot him in the eye.
In addition, there are regimes that for many years were sitting on the UNHRC, for example one of the world’s most powerful dictatorships: Russia under Vladimir Putin. So just six weeks ago, we invited as a witness a hero who recently got out of the Russian gulag: Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition leader, author, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, historian, and documentary filmmaker.
Because he spoke out against Putin, they tried to kill him by poisoning in 2015, and again in 2017. He barely survived. He went back to Russia. He spoke out against the regime. In April 2022, after he called Putin a war criminal, they took him away. They sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason. He was languishing in a Siberian gulag, in solitary confinement, his health deteriorating. His wife Evgenia went around the world, tirelessly fighting for his release. We brought her several times to the United Nations. By a miracle, in August, Vladimir was released, and we got to see them both reunited at our Geneva Summit.
In Venezuela, also a former longtime UNHRC member, the dictator Nicolas Maduro destroyed the country, causing more than 7 million people to flee. He had been on the Human Rights Council for many years.
Last July, with the support of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, Edmundo González decided to run for President. The world knows that he won. Maduro lied and made up fake results. The world knows that Mr. Gonzalez won. The regime has now kidnapped his son-in-law. He lives in exile but he continues to speak out. We had the honor to hear testimony from both Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo González, when we presented them with the 2025 Courage Award. UN Watch is committed to supporting these and other courageous heroes worldwide who are fighting to free their peoples from dictatorship and repression.
Estadão: What are your suggestions for changing/modifying the evident ideological and political bias of the mechanisms/institutions that monitor human rights?
Hillel Neuer: At the end of the day, our individual governments need to show backbone at the United Nations. Sadly, the reality today is that the representatives of our democracies too often just “go along to get along.” They go along, for example, with the election of the Islamic Republic of Iran-one of the world’s most misogynistic regimes-to the UN Women’s Rights Commission.
Only when we exposed that obscenity, and after a two-year campaign, did we succeed in finally expelling Iran from that body. The US under Biden initially wouldn’t comment, but eventually under pressure, and especially after the “Women Life Freedom” protests broke out, did they change their position. In the end, the US used our idea, and convened an unprecedented special session of the UN to remove the Ayatollahs from the women’s rights commission. So this is what we need others to do as well: France, Germany, Canada, actually taking a principled stand at the UN. Only then will we have credible multilateralism.
Estadão: How was the process of founding and developing the prestigious organization UN WATCH, and what challenges have you faced so far? How do you envision the future of the organization and what are your proposals to make it increasingly well-known and efficient, not only within the UN, but in the observation of other organizations?
Hillel Neuer: The organization was established in 1993 by the legendary civil rights activist Morris Abram, who had previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and was a key figure in the civil rights movement. I had the honor of joining UN Watch in 2004 and have been its executive director ever since.
When I came on board, UN Watch was already a respected voice for holding the UN accountable to its own principles. But we’ve worked hard over the years to grow our impact-both within the UN system and far beyond it.
Our world changed around 2007, with the advent of both YouTube and the UN beginning to video-record the debates. We saw the potential of this oportunity.
If millions worldwide know of and admire UN Watch and the cause for which we fight, it is almost entirely because of our speeches at the United Nations.
The ability of our organization to speak at the United Nations is a golden opportunity to be a voice on the world stage for constituencies that feel unrepresented and wronged. This is true for Israel’s right to be treated equally and to defend itself against terrorists, and for victims of human rights abuses worldwide, who are otherwise largely ignored.
Words matter. Speeches delivered in the assembly of nations have the immense power to inspire, educate and mobilize millions, rallying people to a cause, like a flag.
To date, UN Watch videos have achieved 60 million views on Youtube alone, and millions more on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. No other organizations in our field of comparable or even larger size have managed to achieve this feat.
One of our biggest challenges has been the imbalance and politicization we often see at the UN, where some of the worst human rights violators manage to get elected to bodies like the Human Rights Council. In that environment, telling the truth can be unpopular-but it’s absolutely necessary.
We’ve met those challenges by shining a spotlight on the voices that are too often silenced-dissidents from Iran, Venezuela, Russia, China, and elsewhere. We’ve also taken our message beyond the UN, reaching millions through speeches, social media, and international media coverage. One of my personal goals has been to make human rights real and relatable, not just abstract resolutions and reports.
The incredible personal testimonies from dissidents that we bring to the UN and to the world, day in and day out, are essential.
And our work is being recognized. In 2018, McGill University awarded me with an honorary doctorate for our work to advance human rights, and for being “a voice for those without one,” for being “an innovator in creating global platforms for courageous dissidents and champions of human rights from around the world,” and for being “a passionate advocate for human rights, fighting tirelessly against discrimination, torture, and injustice.”
Looking ahead, I want to see UN Watch become even more effective in defending victims and exposing double standards. We’re expanding our research, training a new generation of human rights advocates, and strengthening partnerships with like-minded groups around the world. I believe in combining the moral clarity of truth-telling with the strategic focus needed to actually make change.
Ultimately, our mission remains simple-and urgent: to stand up for the universal principles that the UN was founded to protect, and to make sure those in power are held accountable when they betray them.
Estadão: Combating human rights violations involves improving and training information control mechanisms. In this sense, how do you evaluate the role of social media in three aspects: speed at which information is disseminated, quality of information and combating disinformation. And what do you suggest as an approach to traditional media? What is your opinion on the role of social media in reporting on human rights violations? Do you notice that there is a lack of interest in mainstream media in addressing the issue?
Hillel Neuer: Social media is an essential tool for our organization. We no longer need to rely on the gatekeepers in the major media, which is ultimately a small group of people, many of whom share the same worldview. Twitter, Instagram and YouTube have enabled us to communicate our message to millions directly. Of course, coverage by mainstream media is very important as well, as they are major platforms, and they provide gravitas and legitimacy.
At the same time, there is no question that social media has dangers. In the past, there were some checks before a story would be reported in a well-known newspaper. On social media, anyone can make up a story, and this is used effectively by Russia, China, Iran, and Hamas. We need to be aware of propaganda, and there is a lot of it. Make sure you follow and trust only people or institutions who have proven their commitment to facts, integrity and truth.
Estadão: What is your reading of the current conflict triggered by Hamas’ terrorist acts and how do you imagine the events of 10/7 will impact the future not only in the Middle East, but throughout the world.
Hillel Neuer: The October 7th massacre changed everything. It wasn’t just an attack. It was the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust-children, women, and grandparents who were kidnapped, tortured, assaulted, and slaughtered, with entire communities destroyed.
It exposed the true face of Hamas: a genocidal terror group that doesn’t want peace, only Israel’s destruction. This was not about borders or negotiations. It was about hatred, pure and simple.
The impact is global. First, it shattered illusions. Many believed Hamas could be “managed” or “contained.” No more. Israelis now know they must dismantle Hamas to survive.
Second, it forced the world to choose sides. You’re either against terror, or you’re making excuses for it. Sadly, we saw universities and even some UN officials justify or downplay the atrocities. That was a moral collapse.
Third, it sparked a wave of antisemitism worldwide. Jewish schools, synagogues, and students are under attack-not because of anything they did, but simply for being Jewish. That tells us October 7 wasn’t just about Israel. It was a wake-up call for the free world.
The lesson is this: appeasing terror only invites more terror. Just like ISIS or Al-Qaeda, Hamas must be defeated. Otherwise, others will follow their example.
Israel is fighting not only for itself, but for the values of the civilized world.
Estadão: We know that anti-Semitic demonstrations began to occur even before Israel’s retaliation against the terrorists in Gaza. It seems clear that there is still structural anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism in Western societies. In your opinion, how was this possible considering that only 8 decades have passed since the Shoah?
Hillel Neuer: It’s shocking, but not surprising.
Even before Israel responded to Hamas, we saw people on Western streets celebrating the slaughter. Not protesting-celebrating. Chanting “glory to the martyrs” while Jews were still burying their dead.
How is this possible, 80 years after the Holocaust? Because the lessons of “Never Again” were never truly learned.
After 1945, antisemitism didn’t vanish. It just changed form. Today, hating Jews is often disguised as hating the Jewish state. That’s why people chant “from the river to the sea”-it’s not a call for peace, it’s a call to erase Israel.
Much of the problem comes from universities, media, and international institutions. They’ve promoted a worldview where Jews are cast as “colonizers,” and terror groups are seen as “resistance.” Facts don’t matter-ideology does.
And let’s be honest: antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred. It adapts. In the Middle Ages, they said Jews poisoned the wells. Today, they say Jews poison global politics, that the Jewish state is the world’s ultimate violator of human rights, the arch-criminal, a racist state. It’s the same lie in a new form.
And all of this against the only liberal democracy in the benighted Middle East, a multi-cultural society which is the only place in the region where millions of Arabs and Muslims can actually vote and be elected in free and fair elections, and enjoy basic human rights like freedom of speech, assembly and religion.
October 7 didn’t create antisemitism-it exposed it. Loud and clear. The challenge now is whether the West has the courage to stand against it.
Estadão: There is a systematic attitude by much of the media that has been directly affecting Jews around the world. I cite the scandalous coverage by the BBC and other international media outlets buying into Hamas’ version of events, which fraudulently blamed the country for the attack on the Gaza’s Shifa hospital when it was the result of an erratic missile fired by Islamic jihad. Mobs against Jews in Dagestan and Amsterdam. Interruption of diplomatic meetings and threats, physical intimidation and violent attacks at American universities. And against all demographic evidence, the unfounded accusations of genocide. How do you see the role of the media and the international press in inflating the accusations against Israel?
Yes, in this regard one could say the media has blood on its hands. On October 17, when a rocket hit the Al-Ahli hospital parking lot in Gaza, Hamas rushed to blame Israel. No evidence. No verification. But major outlets- BBC, New York Times, Al Jazeera-ran with the lie. As did Amnesty International. Days later, we saw mobs in Dagestan chanting “death to Jews” as they stormed the airport, hunting on the tarmac for Israeli passengers whose plane had just landed. Jews were targeted in cities across Europe, and in U.S. universities.
The actual truth came out quickly: it was an Islamic Jihad rocket, fired from within Gaza. But the damage was done. The correction never catches up to the headline. This is a pattern. When it comes to Israel, much of the media suspends skepticism. They treat terrorist propaganda as “eyewitness testimony.” They amplify blood libels-then move on, while Jews pay the price.
And now, absurd claims of “genocide” are being parroted on front pages and at the UN, even as Israel provided advance warning to civilians, opens humanitarian corridors, and has 59 hostages still being held and tortured by Hamas. Instead of exposing terrorism, too many journalists are laundering its narrative.
The press should hold power to account-not act as a megaphone for murderers.
Estadão: Do you consider disinformation to be the weapon against which we have the least know-how to defend ourselves in the 21st century? How can we prevent bias against Israel, and how can we encourage healthy journalism to counteract disinformation campaigns based on prejudice and ideology?
Hillel Neuer: Yes-disinformation is the 21st century’s most powerful weapon. It’s cheap, fast, and deadly. A single tweet from a terror group can spark riots, change headlines, or trigger diplomatic crises. We saw this after the Al-Ahli hospital explosion-one false claim by Hamas, and the world erupted.
But disinformation only works when truth is weak. That’s the real danger-not just the lie, but the silence that lets it spread. How do we fight it?
We need courage. Journalists must ask hard questions-even when it’s unpopular. When Hamas makes a claim, the press should treat it with the same skepticism they’d use for any armed group. Not repeat it as fact.
And we need accountability. When outlets like the BBC or NYT publish falsehoods, they must correct them clearly-not in footnotes, but with the same energy as the original story.
Finally, we need education. Many young people today get their news from TikTok or Instagram. That’s where much of the anti-Israel bias spreads. We need to teach critical thinking. Show them how to spot propaganda. Remind them that facts matter. Disinformation thrives in silence. Truth needs defenders.
Israel is not perfect-no country is. But it deserves to be judged by facts, not by double standards or blood libels dressed up as “activism.”
Estadão: Do you think that a change in the US administration will have any positive, negative or neutral impact on combating human rights violations?
Hillel Neuer: It depends on the issue-and who’s leading. One encouraging sign is that Marco Rubio, now serving as Secretary of State, has long been a strong and principled voice on human rights. He has consistently spoken out against the abuses of Cuba, Venezuela, China, Iran, and Hamas. We trust that he will continue to call out dictators and defend dissidents.
That said, we also have concerns. President Trump has praised Vladimir Putin, even in the face of serious human rights abuses. We hope that the administration will adopt a firmer stance on Russia moving forward.
At the end of the day, defending human rights must transcend politics. What matters is whether the U.S. stands with the oppressed, not with their oppressors. We’ll be watching closely-and speaking out when needed.
Estadão: Please comment on the current role of the UN, especially in relation to the current conflict in the Middle East. In addition to the bias of Antonio Guterres’ actions, who ambiguously stated that the massacre of Jews in southern Israel claimed by the Hamas terrorist organization “did not happen in a vacuum”. And after the various evidence that UNRWA schools, including journalists accredited by international agencies, were present at the NOVA festival massacre and showed some degree of support for the terrorist activities that occurred before and after October 7th?
Hillel Neuer: The United Nations has become part of the problem. When Hamas carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, we expected moral clarity. Instead, Secretary-General Guterres stood before the world and said the Hamas massacre “did not happen in a vacuum.” He then listed alleged Palestinian grievances against Isael.
But if he actually wanted to talk about influences and causes, he should have acknowledged who educated the terrorists. He should have recognized that UNRWA, his agency in Gaza, employs numerous Hamas operatives as teachers, school principals and union leaders. UN Watch exposed hundreds of UNRWA staff members who incite violence and praise Hitler on social media.
He could have named Fathi Sharif, who oversaw 2,000 UNRWA teachers in Lebanon – while has was also a Hamas terror chief. Or Suhail al-Hindi, an UNRWA school principal who was also an elected member of the Hamas Political Bureau. Instead, Guterres said nothing about how the UN knowingly employs Hamas terrorists to run the education of Palestinians, teaching them to hate Israelis.
Worse, since October 7th, it’s been confirmed that at least twelve UNRWA employees directly participated in the massacre-some at the NOVA music festival. Others helped kidnap hostages. Some celebrated it online. These are not isolated cases. This is systemic rot.
For years, we at UN Watch warned that UNRWA was enabling extremism. We published reports, named names, and sounded the alarm. The UN and Guterres ignored us. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini accused us of “misinformation,” and pretended there was no problem with terrorists running the UN education of Gazans. Now the world sees the result.
Today, the Human Rights Council still blames Israel while staying silent on Hamas’ war crimes. The UN was created to uphold peace and dignity. But in too many ways, it has become an enabler of the very hatred it was meant to prevent.
Estadão: Henry Kissinger once ironically stated that Israel “had no foreign policy, but just domestic policy.” Finally, with all your huge experience, what would be your suggestions for redefining Israel’s communication with the world?
Hillel Neuer: Kissinger’s line still stings-because there’s truth in it.
For too long, Israel focused on surviving, not explaining. It built one of the world’s most resilient democracies, absorbed millions of immigrants, innovated in medicine, tech, and security-but didn’t always tell its story clearly. That has to change.
Today, information is the battlefield. Lies spread in seconds. Blood libels go viral. And silence is deadly.
So what should Israel do?
First, it must speak with one voice. In times of crisis, clarity and coordination are everything. Mixed messaging is a gift to those who wish to distort the facts.
Second, invest in digital diplomacy. The next generation doesn’t read newspapers-they scroll TikTok. Israel needs fluent, credible voices who can reach global audiences where they are, in their language, with empathy and facts.
Third, elevate human stories. The world needs to see not just policies, but people. When people see the human cost, hearts change.
Fourth, empower allies. Often it’s more effective when non-Israelis speak out-academics, activists, journalists, even dissidents from Arab countries or Iran. Their voices can cut through the noise.
And finally, never apologize for existing. Israel’s story is not just defensive-it’s inspiring. A tiny country, surrounded by threats, thriving in freedom. That story needs to be told with pride.
In the end, the goal isn’t just to win arguments-it’s to win understanding.
https://unwatch.org/hillel-neuer-interviewed-in-brazils-leading-newspaper-estadao/