Leaders in the human rights world are criticizing the Biden administration for withdrawing the nomination of a prominent human rights attorney from a post over the attorney’s past comments criticizing Israel. Last Friday, the State Department announced the nomination of James Cavallaro to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He had previously served on the commission from 2014 to 2017, including a period as its president. This was all during the Obama administration, the Obama-Biden administration. Cavallaro is a widely respected human rights attorney, co-founder and executive director of the University Network for Human Rights. Earlier this week, the State Department withdrew Cavallaro’s nomination after reports emerged he described Israel as an apartheid state and had criticized House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’s close ties to AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. This is State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaking Tuesday.
So, on Friday, the State Department publicly announced that they had chosen me, after an internal process, to be the U.S. national candidate to serve as an independent expert — and let me underscore that; it’s quite important — as an independent expert on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. And as you noted, I had the privilege of serving on the Inter-American Commission in the past as a result of the nomination of the then-Obama-Biden administration. So, on Friday, they issue a statement. They talk about my background, my knowledge of Latin America, my fluency in other languages, etc., all factors in their choosing me to be the candidate. That’s Friday.
— source democracynow.org | Feb 17, 2023