US wins first seat on UN rights council
By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS -- The United States won a seat on the U.N. Human Rights
Council for the first time Tuesday along with four countries accused of
serious human rights violations - Cuba, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia.
Former President George W. Bush's administration boycotted the council
over its repeated criticism of Israel and its refusal to cite flagrant
rights abuses in Sudan and elsewhere.
But the U.S. announced in late March that it would seek to join the
council to help make it more effective, reflecting President Barack
Obama's desire to create a "new era of engagement" with the
international community.
Even though the U.S. did not face competition in its regional group for
a seat on the 47-member council, it needed to get at least 97 votes - a
majority of the 192 U.N. member states - in a secret ballot. It did far
better, winning 167 votes.
"We received 90 percent of the valid votes cast," U.S. Ambassador Susan
Rice pointed out after the vote. "And we're gratified by the strong
showing of encouragement for the United States to again play a
meaningful leadership role in multilateral organizations including the
United Nations on the very vitally important set of issues relating to
human rights and democracy."
Rice was asked whether it wasn't impossible for the council to be
effective because the U.S. and other members have been accused of
failing to respect human rights.
"We certainly share the view that the council has not performed to its
potential, but we wouldn't be running if we thought it was impossible,"
she said. "Obviously, there will always be some countries whose respect
and record on human rights is sub-par. We have not been perfect ourselves."
The Human Rights Council was created in March 2006 to replace the U.N.'s
widely discredited and highly politicized Human Rights Commission - with
the U.S. virtually alone in voting against its creation. But the council
has been widely criticized for failing to change many of the
commission's practices, including putting much more emphasis on Israel
than on any other country.
Seats on the Human Rights Council are allotted by region.
In Tuesday's election for 18 new council members, Africa and Eastern
Europe had contested slates but other regions had uncontested slates - a
practice criticized by human rights groups.
In the most hotly contested race in Eastern Europe, Russia and Hungary
defeated Azerbaijan, whose human rights record was targeted by a
coalition of rights groups for the country's crackdown on political
opponents and lack of press freedom.
Russia was also criticized for political manipulation, the virtual
elimination of influential opposition parties, and severe limitations on
the press.
Africa had the only other contested race with Senegal, Mauritius,
Nigeria, Cameroon and Djibouti defeating Kenya.
The five Asian candidates - Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, China and
Saudi Arabia - were all elected. So were the three Latin America and
Caribbean candidates - Mexico, Uruguay and Cuba.
The three candidates from the Western group also won on the first ballot
- Norway, Belgium and the United States.
Human rights groups strongly criticized the rights records of Cuba,
Saudi Arabia and China as well, but with no opposition they won easily.
EYEontheUN - a project of the Hudson Institute, a U.S. think tank, and
the Touro Law Center Institute for Human Rights - said the election
maintained the grip of the Organization of the Islamic Conference on the
council.
Steve Crawshaw, U.N. advocacy director of New York-based Human Rights
Watch, welcomed the U.S. election and its decision "to re-engage with
the world" by joining the council.
But he said the lack of competitiveness sends "a regrettable signal"
that could diminish efforts to keep out rights-abusing countries.
US wins first seat on UN rights council - Nation AP - MiamiHerald.com
(12 May 2009)
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/1044472.html
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