Former Soviet envoy with U.N.
;-NZPA London . - The former Soviet Am- ' ‘bassador. to New: Zealand, : -Vsevolod Sofinsky, is tem;‘porarily serving on a ?junited Nations committee •studying human rights, aci'cording to United Nations sources in Geneva.
Mr Sofinsky is in •/Geneva as an alternate for
• the usual Soviet representative on the United subcommission on "■ -Prevention of Dis'crimination and Protection ./of'Minorities. The sub-commission — : serviced by the United .Nations, human rights — meets once a /year for four weeks studying a whole range of alleged or actual depriva’tions of human rights -around the world. Mr Sofinsky, thrown .out of New Zealand earlier this year for allegedly giving money to "the Socialist Unity Party, is one of 28 members on the
sub-commission. There'are no New Zealanders on it. The . usual Soviet member, Sergei Smirnov, was unable to attend the current session, the sources said, and Mr Sofinsky was nominated as his replacement “with the blessing of the Soviet Government”, although the members are supposed to be there as individuals rather than as government representatives. Mr Sofinsky has had a chequered, but obviously successful career in .the Soviet Foreign Ministry. In his younger days as a career diplomat in London, he was supposed to have been a K.G.B. operative and a master of “disinformation". Before being posted to New Zealand, he was head of the Ministry’s press section. Mr Sofinsky won promotion when he returned to Moscow from Wellington.
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Press, 1 September 1980, Page 23
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233Former Soviet envoy with U.N. Press, 1 September 1980, Page 23
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