Reem Alsalem Must be Held Accountable for Repeated and Severe Violations of the HRC Code of Conduct

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Contact: Mike Buchanan

Telephone: +44 7967 026163

Reem Alsalem Must be Held Accountable for Repeated and Severe Violations of the HRC Code of Conduct

July 17, 2023 – Parental Alienation is a severe form of child abuse in which one parent seeks to estrange the child from the other parent, causing aversion to the second parent. Over 200 scientific studies have analyzed the scope, dynamics, and effects of Parental Alienation (1), and concluded PA is on a par with the physical and sexual abuse of children (2).

Parental Alienation has been recognized by a broad range of professional organizations such as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and others (3).

But Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem’s report, “Custody, Violence Against Women and Violence against Children,” ignores or denies these well-established facts, instead referring to Parental Alienation as “pseudo-science” (4). During its recent 53^rd session, the Human Rights Council declined to approve her flawed document (5).

The factual misrepresentations in Alsalem’s document are so widespread that over 4,900 persons signed a petition calling on the Human Rights Council to “Conduct a public inquiry into the probity of the UNSRVAW’s Report and the conduct of the UNSRVAW in this matter.” (6) (UNSRVAW stands for the “United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women,” and refers to Reem Alsalem.)

Alsalem is bound by provisions of the HRC Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate-Holders (7). Following are key requirements of the HRC Code of Conduct, followed by the evidence — in italics –how Alsalem violated each requirement.

Mandate-holders must:

Article 3(a): Exercise a “professional, impartial assessment of facts” A detailed analysis reveals the Rapporteur’s report was filled with literally dozens of “misleading statements” and “blatant misinformation.” (8)
Article 3(d): Keep in mind the “fundamental obligations of truthfulness.” While hundreds of studies demonstrate the existence and severity of PA (1), Alsalem claimed that Parental Alienation is a “discredited and unscientific pseudo-concept.”
Article 3(e): Uphold the highest standards of “impartiality, equity, honesty, and good faith.” Parental alienation often inflicts long-lasting harm on its victims. By denying the suffering and pain of survivors of Parental Alienation, Alsalem failed to act in good faith.
Article 6(a): Always seek to “establish the facts, based on objective, reliable information emanating from relevant credible sources.” Alsalem arbitrarily excluded the dozens of submissions to her office that documented the pernicious effects of Parental Alienation (9).
Article 8(a): Be guided by the principles of “transparency, impartiality, and even-handedness.” A review of hundreds of domestic violence studies conducted around the world concludes, “women are as physically aggressive as men (or more) in their relationships with their spouses or opposite-sex partners.” (10) But Alsalem falsely claimed that “The majority of domestic violence was male violence.”
Article 8(c): “Rely on objective and dependable facts.” On May 29, the Department of Justice of Ireland released a report that documented the problem of parental alienation (11). But during her June 23 presentation to the Council, Alsalem ignored the existence of this timely and objective report (12).

When Alsalem announced the “Call for Inputs” in December, she promised that “All submissions will be published on the mandate webpage on the OHCHR website” (13) – a promise that she did not keep.

Reem Alsalem’s violations of the HRC Code of Conduct are numerous, substantive, and severe (14). The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance requests that the Human Rights Council investigate the matter, impose appropriate sanctions, and publicly report its decision before the commencement of the 54^th session of the Council on September 11.

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 100 member organizations from 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

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