U.N. Human Rights Chief Blasts ‘Demagogues’ of Western Nations

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Times

U.N. Human Rights Chief Blasts ‘Demagogues’ of Western Nations


By NICK CUMMING-BRUCESEPT. 5, 2016

GENEVA — Discarding diplomatic niceties, the United Nations’ top human rights official on Monday denounced Western politicians who he said used racist language and peddled fear in a way similar to the jihadist propaganda of Islamist extremists.

Speaking at a gala event in The Hague, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the high commissioner for human rights, lashed out at “populists, demagogues and fantasists” exploiting economic hardship and social tensions to fan racial and religious prejudice.

Mr. Hussein addressed some of his comments to Geert Wilders, an anti-Muslim firebrand who is leading opinion polls in the Netherlands, where elections are set to be held in March. But he also took aim at Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and at right-wing European leaders like Marine Le Pen in France and Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary.

Mr. Hussein has spoken out against statements by right-wing political leaders in recent months but took his criticisms to a new level of vehemence on Monday. He urged a stand against “the banalization of bigotry” by such populists, drawing a long standing ovation from an audience that included international jurists, diplomats and film celebrities.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/world/un-human-rights-chief-blasts-demagogues-of-western-nations.html?_r=0

[William Seger]

1. They're not "populists"

Populists see politics as a struggle between the common people and the elitists who control everything and use their power to increase their wealth. Right-wing pseudo-populists see a struggle between "people like me" and everyone else.