U.S.: Rights abusers do not belong on U.N. human rights panel
Regional-USA, Politics, 4/2/2005

U.S. delegates to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights say that body's country membership must be reformed to prevent those who abuse human rights from using their positions on the committee to prevent criticism of their records.

"These folks get together and prevent, in collusion with one another, resolutions from being offered or being successful against them," said former Senator Rudy Boschwitz, referring to countries like Sudan and Cuba that secure membership in the commission through a selection process based on the United NationsÕ regional groups.

"The U.N. Commission on Human Rights, which sits in judgment of the human rights of others, must have some reasonable standards of membership," said Boschwitz, head of the U.S. delegation to the 61st session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. "This Commission must be made up of firefighters, not of arsonists," he said.

Boschwitz urged delegates from the commission's 51 member states not to leave Geneva without adopting a strong resolution on the situation in Sudan.Ê "Nor must we leave this place without appropriate condemnation -- unless appropriate condemnations [are] more appropriately done in some other U.N. body -- of other abuses such as Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe."

The commission "must be part of the wave of freedom that is occurring at an accelerating pace worldwide," he added. "It should be a "facilitator of that wave -- not stand in its way or reduce its force."

Boschwitz and other members of the U.S. delegation spoke at a March 31 press conference in Geneva, where the 61st Session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights is in the midst of its annual six-week session.Ê Over 3,000 delegates representing observer nations and nongovernmental organizations, in addition to the 53 members of the commission, are participating in the session.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Lagon said the United States finds U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposals on the human rights apparatus "very promising," in particular the idea of tying membership to elections in the U.N. General Assembly.Ê But Lagon added that the details of the proposal remain to be worked out and are expected to be the subject of formal discussions at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Lagon said the United States has "many priorities" at the commission, and plans to play a leading role on resolutions designed to continue the United NationsÕ human-rights monitoring of the situations in Belarus and Cuba.

The United States also plans to sponsor two "thematic" resolutions designed to promote the development of democratic societies.Ê One focuses on the freedom of assembly and freedom of association, and the other on democracy and the rule of law.

Asked why the United States has not submitted a resolution on China at the 61stsession, Ambassador Kevin E. Moley, permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, responded that Beijing has made a number of significant improvements.Ê But he added that the United States has "much higher hopes for the progress of human rights in China," and he did not rule out a resolution as an option in coming years.

Moley questioned the basis for an allegation made at the commission by Special Rapporteur Jean Ziegler that the U.S. invasion of Iraq had led to increased malnutrition among children, terming the statement "unfortunate."

"First he has not visited Iraq.Ê Secondly, he is wrong," Moley said, adding that vaccination rates and food aid have increased dramatically since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Boschwitz said he saw some evidence that ÒhopefulÓ developments in the Middle East are also beginning to also have an impact at the commission.

The former senator said he had been struck by the Palestinian delegates' statement under "Item 8: The Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories." -- a portion of the commission's annual debate that has normally been reserved for harsh diatribes against Israel.Ê Item 8 is the only agenda item that focuses exclusively on the actions of one country.

The Palestinian delegate's speech "was the shortest and perhaps most meaningful of this entire session," Boschwitz said. "His speech in its entirety was, and I quote, 'We extend our hand to our Israeli neighbors to live in peace.'Ó

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