Tuesday, May 8, 2007
What else is new? Well, I suppose this helps in planting the seeds of skepticism in people's minds when they hear the wonderful pronouncements of the august body. The UN and its bureaucracy aren't going away, the best we can hope for is to mitigate the damage.
YNet: Watchdogs criticizes UN Rights Council
The two groups, UN Watch and Freedom House, released reports charging that rights violators such as Cuba, Saudi Arabia and China have shielded themselves — and countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe — from criticism as members of the new group.
The groups said the UN General Assembly is also expected to select several other countries with poor rights records to become new members of the body this month. The groups named Angola, Belarus, Egypt and Qatar as candidate nations that were unqualified for membership because of their poor rights records.
UN Watch, based in Geneva, described the council's first year as "profoundly disappointing."
"Members are supposed to be elected based on their human rights records, yet the council includes persistent violators, and after the upcoming elections is expected to include several more," the UN Watch report said. "The council's record so far is profoundly disappointing."...
That's diplo-speak for "total bullshit."
Instead, critics say, it has been dominated by African and Muslim countries that have sided with China, Cuba and other countries in preventing criticism of any government but Israel. The United States has also not sought a seat on the council, accusing it of anti-Israel bias.
According to UN Watch, the council has issued 12 country-specific resolutions: nine censures of Israel and three "non-condemnatory" resolutions on Sudan.
It's great that these reports came out, except for one thing: Freedom House is a right-of-center outfit and UN Watch is associated with the American Jewish Committee. So these reports reflect their ideological leanings, anyway. Pretty much in the dog-bites-man category.
It's good that these organizations are publicizing their views about the UN Human Rights Council, but I think that many people will dismiss their reports as partisan. Unfortunately. The Council could use some serious scrutiny. It looks as if it's becoming a joke, a really bad joke.
Joanne, it's a shame that people might dismiss the critiques of the UN "human rights" body because they come either from the Right or from Jewish people.
Unfortunately the Left seems to have deserted us and the cause of universal human rights as well. So who is left to fight for Israel? And who is fighting for the rights of people who don't happen to be Palestinian Arabs?
Increasingly I have felt that something is amiss with the Left. I don't understand how we can ignore human rights violations EXCEPT THOSE COMMITTED BY ISRAEL, with the occasional grudging acknowledgement of open genocide in Darfur. Even in that case people accuse "Zionists" of making aggravation for the Sudanese government, and react when Jews call attention to it: we're accused of trying to deflect attention from (surprise) Israel.
The other great bogeyman of course is America. Maybe Israel has become the scapegoat for the West, for all the crimes we've allegedly or actually committed throughout time? I don't know but I think the Left is back to "the Socialism of Fools" and has abandoned all proportion and all sense of right and wrong.
We should be leading the fight for human rights, not selectively condemning Israel or forgiving egregious and endemic, systemic violations just because they might happen to reflect "indigenous cultures" -
Isn't that a form of racism in itself?
Great post Sophia.
Ever since "the left" has come out solidly against Israel, I'm solidly against "the left", "progressives", "socialists".
I'm not against leftist values ever since the left came out against Israel. But I am against the left's opposition to Israel.
Progressive values include a lot more than just anti-Zionism. And, remember, you can be pro-Zionist from a progressive perspective. I'm not going to adopt Republican values regarding the role of multi-nationals, abortion, prayer in the schools, health care, social security, and a host of other issues....just because a good part of the left opposes Israel.
I cannot let my support for Israel dictate my position on a whole host of other issues. I cannot pretend to be a Republican as an emotional reaction to the fact that Republicans are often friendlier to Israel than Democrats or left-wingers.
Politically, I'm more of a Social Democrat (think the European model) and a pro-Zionist. It's only a myth that you cannot be both, a myth that ultimately serves the enemies of Israel.
Many on the left--and right--think that being pro-Zionist is incompatible with being liberal or left-wing. That shouldn't have to be so.
Take a look at this link:
http://allisonkaplansommer.blogmosis.com/history/2006_04.html