Jean Ziegler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jean Ziegler
Ziegler in 2009
Born	Hans Ziegler (1934-04-19) 19 April 1934 (age 91) Thun, Switzerland
Education	University of Bern; University of Geneva
Occupation	Professor, adviser, sociologist

Jean Ziegler (born Hans Ziegler on April 19, 1934) is a Swiss professor, writer, and human rights advocate. He taught sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne. He also served as a vice-president for a committee advising the United Nations Human Rights Council.

From 1981 to 1999, he was a member of the Swiss Parliament. He also held important roles at the United Nations. He was the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food from 2000 to 2008. He was also part of the UN Human Rights Council's Advisory Committee from 2008 to 2012. Jean Ziegler has written many books and is famous for saying: "A child who dies from hunger is a murdered child."

Jean Ziegler's Early Life and Studies

Jean Ziegler was born in Thun, Switzerland, on April 19, 1934. His father was a judge and a military officer. Jean Ziegler later married and had a son.

He first studied at the University of Bern and the University of Geneva. He also became a lawyer in Geneva. Then, he moved to Paris to study sociology at the Sorbonne. He has advanced degrees in both Law and Sociology.

While in Paris, he met famous thinkers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. They introduced him to new ideas about society. Simone de Beauvoir even suggested he change his first name from Hans to Jean. He joined a political party that later removed him for supporting Algeria's independence.

In 1952, he met Abbé Pierre in Paris. He became the first director of the Emmaus charity in Geneva. This group helps people in need.

In 1961, he visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He saw children suffering while the country's leader, Mobutu Sese Seko, was taking the country's money. This experience made him want to fight for a fairer world. He wanted wealth to be shared more equally between rich and poor countries.

In 1964, Ziegler met Che Guevara in Geneva. He drove the Cuban revolutionary around Switzerland. When Ziegler asked if he could join him in Cuba, Che Guevara told him: "Here is where you were born, and here lives the monster's brain. It is here that you must fight." This meant Ziegler should fight for change in his own country.

Jean Ziegler became a professor at the University of Grenoble and later at the University of Geneva. He taught sociology until 2002. He also taught at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Working in Public Office

Ziegler in 1971

In 1963, Jean Ziegler was elected to the city council of Geneva. He was a member of the Social Democrats. From 1967 to 1983 and again from 1987 to 1999, he served in the Swiss National Council. This is like the Swiss parliament. While there, he led a group focused on relations between Switzerland and developing countries. He also worked on foreign affairs, science, and international trade.

Switzerland nominated him to be the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. He held this important role from 2000 to 2008. The Swiss government was happy that he could use his knowledge to help the UN. He was also elected to the Advisory Committee of the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2008. He served two terms until 2012 and was re-elected in 2013 for another term until 2016. He is also part of an advisory group that fights against financial crimes.

Awards and Recognitions

Jean Ziegler has received many honors for his work. In 1994, France made him a knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has also received an honorary degree from the University of Mons in Belgium. Italy awarded him the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic. The country of Cape Verde gave him their National Order of Amílcar Cabral.

In 2002, he received the Gaddafi Human Rights Prize. On January 17, 2009, he received another honorary degree from the University of Paris VIII. In Austria, he won the "Federal State Salzburg prize for future research" in 2008. In 2012, he received the "Blue Planet Award" for his efforts in humanitarian ethics.

Important Issues During His UN Work

As a UN official, Jean Ziegler worked on global issues like the use of biofuels. He also dealt with problems in specific countries. He criticized using crops for biofuels instead of food. In 2007, he said it was "a crime against humanity" to turn farmland into fuel. He believed this made hunger worse around the world.

Swiss Banks and Their Role

In 1997, Ziegler claimed that Swiss banks were hiding money for Mobutu Sese Seko, the former leader of Zaire. Ziegler said this was wrong because it was a huge amount of money. In 1994, he had suggested that Switzerland should take Mobutu's money and return it to Zaire, but this idea was not accepted.

Ziegler also spoke out against Swiss banks regarding money from World War II. In 1998, he testified in the US Senate about money belonging to Holocaust victims that was held in Swiss banks. His book, The Swiss, the Gold and the Dead: How Swiss Bankers Helped Finance the Nazi War Machine, was published in America in 1998.

Because of his strong statements against Swiss banks, Ziegler faced legal challenges. He had to pay a large amount of money, which caused him financial difficulties.

The Gaddafi Prize and Other Controversies

A prize named after Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi was created in 1989. Some reports linked Ziegler to helping set up this prize. However, he said he was only "consulted" and did not launch it. He stated that strict rules were in place to ensure Libya would not influence the prize winners.

In 2002, Ziegler was named one of the winners of the Gaddafi Prize. Another winner was Roger Garaudy, a French philosopher who had denied the Holocaust. This was surprising because Ziegler had worked to help Holocaust victims. Ziegler refused the prize. He said he could not accept awards from any country because of his responsibilities at the United Nations.

Ziegler's connection to the Gaddafi Prize led to some criticism. He later said that he considered Gaddafi "completely mad" and a murderer. In 1996, Ziegler signed a letter supporting Roger Garaudy. He later clarified that he meant to show respect for Garaudy's fight against certain extreme ideas. He strongly condemned any ideas that denied or minimized the Holocaust.

Views on Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa

During the Ethiopian famine in the 1980s, Ziegler said that 40,000 people were dying of hunger every day. He blamed this on an economic system where the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

Some critics said Ziegler advised Ethiopian leader Mengistu Haile Mariam on a new constitution. This constitution made Ethiopia a one-party state.

In 2002, Ziegler supported the idea behind Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's land reforms. He said Mugabe had "history and morality on his side." He believed that giving land back to local communities was necessary in Zimbabwe and South Africa. He said that white landowners were "colonizers" and were on "despoiled land." However, he also said that Mugabe's reforms were done in a "despicable context." He clarified that he was speaking personally, not for the United Nations.

Iraq and Its Wars

During the time leading up to the 1990 Gulf War, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein held some Swiss citizens hostage. Ziegler worked to help free them. He even traveled to Baghdad himself. He believed his group could have freed all the hostages if the Swiss government had allowed medicines and milk to be sent to Iraq.

Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Ziegler suggested that Saddam Hussein could go into exile in Switzerland to prevent the war. The Swiss government did not accept this idea. After the invasion, Ziegler accused the forces fighting in Iraq of using food and water as weapons. He said they did this to make civilians leave cities under attack.

Cuba and Its Relationship with the United States

In 2007, Ziegler praised Cuba. He said it was a good example of how a country could provide food for its people. He also praised Cuba for working with the United Nations. He visited Cuba and said: "We cannot say that the right to food is totally respected in Cuba, but we have not seen a single malnourished person."

Ziegler believed that the United States was an "imperialist dictatorship." He accused the US of causing harm to the people of Cuba through its trade embargo.

Comments About Israel

Ziegler criticized Israel's actions during the 2006 Lebanon War. He said that the International Criminal Court should investigate if Israel committed war crimes. He believed Israel's bombing campaign in Lebanon blocked access to food and water. He stated that Israel should be held responsible for violating the right to food for Lebanese civilians.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Itzhak Levanon, responded that Ziegler often went beyond his role. Israel said Ziegler's report only focused on Israeli bombing and not on attacks by Hezbollah.

Ziegler also stated that the Israeli occupation was like a "colonial regime." In 2005, he compared Gaza to a "concentration camp." He later said he was quoting an Israeli scholar and did not mean to compare Israelis to Nazis.

Interactions with North Korea

Ziegler had several discussions with the government of North Korea as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. In 2001, he reported that some of the food aid from the World Food Programme was taken by the army and government. In 2004, he asked North Korea to allow him to visit and help set up a system for food aid. However, North Korea turned down his requests five times.

Criticisms of Jean Ziegler

Some people criticized Ziegler's appointment as UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. They argued that he was a sociologist and did not have specific expertise in food or agriculture.

An independent group of political figures also criticized Ziegler. This group included Irwin Cotler and Per Ahlmark. They pointed to his associations with leaders like Mengistu Haile Mariam and Robert Mugabe. They also mentioned his involvement with the Gaddafi Prize and his support for Roger Garaudy. This group, called UN Watch, opposed his appointment.

In 2008, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a US politician, strongly criticized Ziegler's appointment as a UN Human Rights Council advisor. She said Ziegler supported many "vicious dictators." She claimed he ignored famines and used his position to "attack America and Israel."

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) also opposed Ziegler's re-election to the UN Human Rights Office in 2009. They mentioned his past support for Roger Garaudy and his criticisms of Israel.

Books Written by Jean Ziegler

Jean Ziegler has written many books, often about global issues and human rights. Here are some of them:

• Sociology of the New Africa, 1964.
• Sociology and Contestation, 1969.
• The African Power, 1973.
• The Living and the Dead, 1973.
• Switzerland Exposed, 1978.
• Pillage on Africa, 1978.
• Turn the Guns Around!, 1980.
• The Victory of the Defeated, 1988.
• Swiss Whitewash, 1990.
• The fortune of being Swiss, 1994.
• The Gold of Maniema, 1996.
• The Rebels, Against World Order, 1997.
• The Swiss, the Gold, and the Dead, 1997.
• The Crime Lords: the New Mafias against Democracy, 1998.
• The Black Book of Capitalism, co-authored, 1998.
• World Hunger Explained to my Son, 1999.
• The new rulers of the world and those who resist them, 2002.
• The Right to Adequate food, 2003.
• The Empire of Shame, 2005.
• Hate For the West, 2008.
• The insurrection of the conscience, 2011.
• Mass Destruction: Geopolitics of Hunger, 2011.
• Paths of Hope, 2016.
• Capitalism Explained to my Granddaughter (hoping she will see its end), 2018.
• Lesbos, the Shame of Europe, 2020.

See also

In Spanish: Jean Ziegler para niños