-
The Cable
Rand Paul: You’re Arming al Qaeda’s Allies
-
War of Ideas
No, 3-D Printing Won’t End Hunger
-
Passport
Why Does the U.S. Get All the Tornadoes?
Posted By Colum Lynch
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - 9:30 PM
Share
Libya will be elected Thursday to the U.N. Human Right Council, marking another step in the former American enemy's now well-advanced political rehabilitation on the world stage.
Ever since the Libyan government in 2003 made peace with Washington and abandoned its nascent nuclear weapons program, Tripoli has ascended virtually every important diplomatic body at the United Nations -- including the African Union chairmanship, the U.N. Security Council, and the presidency of the U.N. General Assembly.
Tripoli's growing diplomatic respectability has gnawed at relatives of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, which in 1988 was bombed by a Libyan agent as it flew over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. But Republican and Democratic governments have learned to work with Tripoli, and the Obama administration did not mount a campaign to block its election to the rights council, as it did for Iran.
Senior U.S. officials maintain that they can make progress on promoting human rights even when not working with like-minded countries.
"We're working with longstanding and new partners, including partnering with Egypt on freedom of expression and working with some traditional opponents of country resolutions in the African Group to pass a resolution on Guinea in March," said Suzanne Nossel, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations.
The council will formally elect 14 new members tomorrow, including Angola, Libya, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mauritania, Moldova, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Qatar, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Uganda. All the candidates' names have been put forward as part of a slate of candidates previously agreed upon by the U.N.'s key regional groups.
Human rights groups criticized the election of Angola, Libya, and Malaysia, all of which have poor human rights records. They said their success highlighted the need for an end to the U.N. voting practices of selecting the candidates on the basis of a pre-agreed slate. And they criticized the United States and other Western governments that seek to promote human rights for failing to compete openly for their seats on the council.
"Libya's human right situation is only part of the problem," said Peggy Hicks, an expert on the council at Human Rights Watch. "Competitive elections have successfully pushed Iran out and led to the defeat of Sri Lanka, Belarus and Azerbaijan in the past. The quality of the council's membership is only going to improve if states that support human rights push for competition in all regions and are willing to compete themselves."
Human Rights Watch has long criticized Libya's human rights record, but Sarah Leah Whitson, the organization's North Africa and Middle East director, in February described her last visit to Tripoli as a "breakthrough" and cited an overall improvement in the climate for human rights in the country.
Libya since 1969 has been ruled by the mercurial Muammar al-Qaddafi, whose record on human rights remains "poor," according to the U.S. State Department. Speaking last September at the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly, Qaddafi delivered an epic, 100-minute rant, in which he called the Security Council the "Terror Council" and compared the General Assembly to London's Hyde Park, where “you just make a speech and then you disappear.”
Update, May 18, 2010: The sixth paragraph was corrected to 14, not 12, new members, and Guatemala and Ecuador were added to the list. Mauritius was corrected to Mauritania.
There's only one country in Arabia where human rights are upheld
There's only one country in Arabia where human rights are upheld and that country is called Israel.
Jews from Eastern Europe arrived and freed the native Palestinians from their homes, villages, farms, lands.
Jews from Eastern Europe arrived and carved Palestine into Bantustans so Palestinians can live freely there without the benefit of water, electricity or roads.
Jews from Eastern Europe arrived and destroyed the international airports of Jerusalem and Gaza so Palestinians can be free to go to neighbouring countries like Jordan to fly anywhere in the world.
Jews from Eastern Europe arrived and "exterminated" any and all leaders of Palestinians so they would be free from the burdens of democracy or leadership.
Yes, the Jews of Israel is the only country in the Arabia where human rights are upheld; just don't mention Palestinian refugee camps, extra-judicial assassination policy, land confiscations and house demolitions.
Could you please not make everthing about Israel
Honest request. There are other important things in the world, maybe even a few more important things. This isnt going to do anything, but keep both sides polarized, and keep people who dont care far away from both. Come on, all youre doing is making people think less of you. If everyone just focused on Israel, that problem might get solved eventually, but we would all already be dead from people not focusing on other important things.
Norboose, perhaps Israel can stop violating the human rights
Norboose, perhaps you can request Israel to stop violating the human rights of Palestinians as it has shamefully done for 60+ years and keep it from inciting America to invade and occupy more and more Muslim countries.
Israel can't be excused for its very very bad human rights violations.
Pictures of victims of Israel’s organ thievery ring – ISRAELI ORGAN TRAFFICKING RING: educate yourself!
An Israeli organ trafficking ring which was smashed in South Africa last year has shifted its operations to China, according to a report in the New York Times. A 52-year-old Tel Aviv man, Ilan Peri, is alleged to have organised at least 100 kidney transplants for Israelis.
Read full article here: http://lalqila.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/pictures-of-victims-of-israels-organ-thievery-ring-israeli-organ-trafficking-ring-educate-yourself/
Norboose is right, if you spam every single FB article, related or not, with your anti-Israel rants, you look like an idiot. Perhaps this is the most important issue in the world for you but I assure you, Earth is a very big place with lots of horrific things going on, directly affecting people who have no ties to Israelis or Palestinians at all.
Is the suffering of Palestinians more worthy of everyone's attention than that of the Roma of Kosovo, the people of Port au Prince, or the tens of thousands of women being raped in the "Democratic" Republic of Congo? I hate to sound so callous, believe me I feel for everyone who is oppressed, but you are not helping the Palestinian people; instead you look to be promoting your Jew-hating blog more than anything else.
The fundamental problem with the UNHRC
Is that is set up on some silly notion that you need to distribute seats via geography.
Since the Human Rights Council is largely irrelevant can we at least make them honest? How about a total body of 30 seats, with 10 elected every year, with all UN members not currently on the council eligible for election. The only catch I would add is if 20 nations vote against you then you are out of the running.
You would likely end up with a Council filled mostly with European and Latin American nations, but is that such a bad thing? At least they will be honest.
--and as a last note to LAL QILA, your irrational bigotry does more to bolster the far-right in Israel than it does to help the Palestinian cause. I suggest you take up quilting it is less stressful.
Apparently double standards against Iran and Libya are OK
Apparently double standards against Iran and Libya are OK.
But mention any of the ugly facts about Jewish Israel and its very ugly occupation of Palestine and one gets shouted from three different quarters.
These complainers seem to forget that Israel is the prime mover of all terrorism in the world with its tentacles spread around the world from Israeli goverment's passport thieves in New Zealand & Australia to England, France and Germany to biological and chemical warfare chemcial smuggling from America to Holland where one of their aeroplanes crashed into the apartment building.
Jewish Israel’s EL AL Flight LY1862 with illegal weapons crashes
Jewish Israel’s EL AL Flight LY1862 with illegal weapons grade chemicals and plutonium crashes into an apartment block in Holland whilst smuggling these from America to Israel
Source: http:// lalqila . wordpress . com /2010/05/14/jewish-israels-el-al-flight-ly1862-with-illegal-weapons-grade-chemicals-and-plutonium-crashes-into-an-apartment-block-in-holland-whilst-smuggling-these-from-america-to-israel/
You are just pathetic....
Why don't you mention all the horrors that were done by Muslim people to their OWN people?
99 % of Muslims in Iraq, Paquistan etc' are being killed by Muslims! Sunni against Shiah people, Saudi Arabia against Yemen, Iran against Persian Gold countries.
Not to mention the savage onslaught of hamas on PLO people in 3 years ago. The latter preferred escaping to Israel, although some of them were arrested, than being brutally killed by their "brothers"!
Look at the mirror lal-qila - you will be shocked to discover how "ugly" you are!
Facts seem to bother Zionist Jews and Zionist Christians
Which category do you belong in?
Given the US Gov't flagrant human rights violations in the their so-called war against terrorism, it's unimpeded abuse and kidnapping of children millions by police and judges in family courts, the human rights record of the US Government is far worse than any other country in the world at present.
Susan Rice's objections and rants are only laughable, meant only to deflect attention away from her own blood-stained hands.
Jewish Israel’s EL AL Flight LY1862 with illegal weapons crashes
Jewish Israel’s EL AL Flight LY1862 with illegal weapons grade chemicals and plutonium crashes into an apartment block in Holland whilst smuggling these from America to Israel
Source: http:// lalqila.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/jewish-israels-el-al-flight-ly1862-with-illegal-weapons-grade-chemicals-and-plutonium-crashes-into-an-apartment-block-in-holland-whilst-smuggling-these-from-america-to-israel/
Why are there no law suits against the US government for smuggling chemical and biological bombs to the rogue state of Israel?
Where are the American lawyer when we need them?
Longtime Washington Post correspondent Colum Lynch reports on all things United Nations for Turtle Bay.
Read More
May/June 2013
-
Profile
-
FP Power Map
-
Think Again
Follow us on Twitter | Visit us on Facebook | Follow us on RSS | Subscribe to Foreign Policy
About FP | Meet the Staff | Foreign Editions | Reprint Permissions | Advertising | Writers’ Guidelines | Press Room | Work at FP
Services:Subscription Services | Academic Program | FP Archive | Reprint Permissions | FP Reports and Merchandise | Special Reports | Buy Back Issues
Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Contact Us
11 DUPONT CIRCLE NW, SUITE 600 | WASHINGTON, DC 20036 | Phone: 202-728-7300 | Fax: 202-728-7342
FOREIGN POLICY is published by the FP Group, a division of The Washington Post Company
All contents ©2013 The Foreign Policy Group, LLC. All rights reserved.
(11)
HIDE COMMENTS LOGIN OR REGISTER REPORT ABUSE