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UN Rights Forum Includes
'Some of the World's Worst Abusers'
Patrick Goodenough, International
Editor. Crosswalk.com,
May 10, 2006.
(CNSNews.com) - A majority of the world's
governments decided Tuesday that China,
Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Russia should be
among the group of countries making up the
United Nations' primary forum for human
rights.
Despite pledges to "take into consideration
candidates' contribution to the promotion
and protection of human rights," well
over 100 countries supported a handful of
regimes that rights campaigners say are
among the world's worst.
Of the 47 members of the U.N.'s Human Rights
Council, elected by the General Assembly
in a secret ballot, nine are countries that
the democracy watchdog Freedom House designates
"not free."
They are China (which obtained 146 votes),
Cuba (135), Saudi Arabia (126), Russia (137),
Pakistan (149), Tunisia (171), Algeria (168),
Cameroon (171) and Azerbaijan (elected in
a second-round restricted ballot).
Another 13 are "partly free"
according to Freedom House, which bases
its assessment on scores for political rights
and civil liberties. They are Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Jordan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka,
Djibouti, Gabon, Morocco, Nigeria, Zambia,
Ecuador and Guatemala.
The remaining 25 successful candidates,
all designated "free" by Freedom
House, were Britain, Canada, Finland, France,
Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ghana,
Mali, Mauritius, Senegal, South Africa,
India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Argentina,
Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Czech Republic,
Poland, Romania and Ukraine.
In a result that will be welcomed in Washington
and European capitals, Iran not only failed
in its bid for a council seat, but also
achieved one of the lowest scores in its
regional group.
The HRC was designed to replace the 60-year-old
U.N. Commission on Human Rights, whose critics
says was increasingly discredited by the
presence and voting patterns of rights-violating
nations.
The U.S., which frequently clashed with
countries like Cuba and China at the commission's
annual session in Geneva, voted against
the resolution setting up the council, arguing
that it did not go far enough to prevent
recurrence of the problems that plagued
its predecessor.
The U.S. also decided not to stand for
election to the council in this first election,
although administration officials pledged
to support the body.
Optimism, concern
The new council will have an eight percent
smaller contingent of countries that are
not regarded as fully democratic than the
defunct commission had in its last year
(a drop from 54.7 percent to 46.8 percent.)
Reaction to the election ranged from cautious
optimism to scorn.
"The governments that have a history
of trying to undermine the protection of
human rights through their membership on
the old commission are now a significantly
reduced minority," Kenneth Roth of
Human Rights Watch was quoted as saying.
"That doesn't guarantee that the council
will be a success, but it is a step in the
right direction."
"The face of U.N. 'reform," commented
Anne Bayefsky, editor of the Hudson Institute's
Eye on the U.N. project, saying that "some
of the world's worst human rights abusers"
had been elected onto the body.
Bayefsky noted that under the regional
distribution formula used for the HRC, Asian
and African countries together account for
26 (55 percent) of the seats.
"The election hands the balance of
power in the new council to states which
are not full democracies."
Seventeen of the 26 Asian and African seats
are now taken by countries that do not meet
the characteristics required to be ranked
"free" by Freedom House.
U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based non-governmental
organization (NGO), said it was encouraged
that Sudan and Zimbabwe had chosen not to
run, and that Iran and Venezuela had failed
in their bids.
"At the same time, the electoral victory
of notorious human rights violators such
as Cuba, China, and Saudi Arabia, suggests
that the spirit of the discredited and now-defunct
commission may come back to haunt us when
the new council opens next month,"
said executive director Hillel Neuer.
China's election drew comment from groups
focusing on Beijing's human rights record.
"This is the time for China to move
beyond rhetoric and demonstrate a genuine
commitment to respect and promote human
rights," said Sharon Hom, executive
director of the NGO Human Rights in China.
"It can begin at home by respecting
freedom of expression and promoting diverse
and independent civil society voices, and
instituting specific mechanisms to monitor
the implementation of international human
rights obligations."
Hom said if China and other council members
failed to take part transparently and comprehensively
in a periodic universal review process required
by the HRC resolution, they would merely
be "pouring old wine into new bottles."
The International Campaign for Tibet earlier
called on member states to reject China's
bid, and said it was disappointed "that
so many member states have turned a blind
eye to China's human rights violations in
Tibet."
"But China's election onto the council
also comes with obligations and ICT will
continue to ensure that China does not get
a free ride at the U.N.," said the
group's Tsering Jampa.
"We are already looking ahead to the
universal review that China must undergo
as a council member."
Following Tuesday's vote, names were randomly
drawn from the 47 candidates to establish
which of the elected countries would serve
on the HRC for the full three-year term,
which would serve for two years, and which
for just one year.
This was in line with an earlier decision
that the membership of this new body would
be staggered, in order to allow elections
each year for one-third of the full membership.
Among the countries that will serve for
the full three-year period are several undemocratic
states, including China, Saudi Arabia, Russia,
Azerbaijan and Cuba.
Countries that garnered the highest number
of votes in each regional group were India,
Russia, Germany, Brazil, and Ghana.
For India, Brazil and Germany, those results
will be especially gratifying, as the three
hope to become permanent members of the
U.N. Security Council.
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