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| World Home » Current Affairs » | Fri. Aug 29, 2008 |
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U.N. Approves New Human Rights Council against US wishes MIL/Agencies, Mar 16, 2006. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to replace the U.N.'s discredited human rights body with a new Human Rights Council, ignoring U.S. objections that not enough was done to prevent abusive countries from becoming members as per Edith M.Lederer. Ambassadors from most of the 191 U.N. member states burst into sustained applause when General Assembly President Jan Eliasson, announced the results of the vote: 170 in favor, four against, and three abstentions. But U.S. Ambassador John Bolton refused to join in the applause. A year ago, Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed replacing the widely criticized and highly politicized U.N. Human Rights Commission, which has allowed some of the worst-offending countries to use their membership to protect one another from condemnation. The Human Rights Council, approved on Wednesday, is a watered-down version of Annan's vision. But the secretary-general still called it "historic," and human rights groups welcomed its creation. "This gives the United Nations the chance - a much-needed chance - to make a new beginning in its work for human rights around the world," Annan said in a statement. While no country will be satisfied with everything in the resolution establishing the new council, he said it provides "a solid foundation on which all that are truly committed to the cause of human rights must now build." Eliasson drafted the resolution after months of contentious negotiations. Before the vote, he told the assembly it represents "a unique opportunity for a fresh start for human rights" and would strengthen the U.N.'s machinery and toughen criteria for membership by requiring members to uphold the highest human rights standards. Full Story: http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/ap/2006/03/15/ap2597985.html
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