Commentary
On a gray morning in Geneva, a human-rights advocate walks into the Palais des Nations and scans the room the way you’d scan a street corner for gang members in a hard neighborhood. Not for gangbangers, though—for “civil society.” For the suited delegates with nongovernmental organization (NGO) badges who film speakers a little too closely, who echo embassy talking points a little too faithfully, who make the room feel—subtly, persistently—less safe for anyone bringing evidence that embarrasses Beijing. Investigators have documented this pattern: government-linked “NGOs” using U.N. access to disrupt, intimidate, and drown out criticism.
