{"id":3266,"date":"2009-05-16T01:46:51","date_gmt":"2009-05-15T16:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=3266"},"modified":"2009-05-16T01:48:20","modified_gmt":"2009-05-15T16:48:20","slug":"un-news-us-among-18-nations-elected-to-un-human-rights-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=3266","title":{"rendered":"UN News: US among 18 nations elected to UN Human Rights Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Handbook<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"Foreign<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\"<\/a>\"JAPANESE<\/a>\"sourstrawberriesavatar\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hi Blog. \u00a0Let’s do some catching up with UN stuff for the weekend. \u00a0Some of this stuff regarding membership on the UN Human Rights Council is pretty rich, especially given the US’s record on torture during the Bush II Admin. \u00a0But again, it’s time to see the back of that dark era<\/a>. \u00a0And let’s hope the HRC actually becomes a meaningful organization that can pressure Japan to pass laws against racial discrimination. \u00a0Arudou Debito in Sapporo<\/p>\n

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US AMONG 18 NATIONS ELECTED TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
\nUN News, New York, May 12 2009 3:00PM<\/strong>
\n The General Assembly today <“<\/strong><\/em>http:\/\/www.un.org\/News\/Press\/docs\/\/2009\/ga10826.doc.htm<\/strong><\/em><\/a>“>elected 18 countries to serve on the Geneva-based United Nations <“<\/strong><\/em>http:\/\/www2.ohchr.org\/english\/bodies\/hrcouncil<\/strong><\/em><\/a>\/”>Human Rights Council for three-year terms starting next month, including \u2013 for the first time \u2013 Belgium, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Norway and the United States.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The 47-member Council replaced the Human Rights Commission \u2013 which faced increasing criticism over the years as being ineffective and not accountable \u2013 in 2006.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Assembly also re-elected Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Jordan, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Uruguay. All 18 members elected today will begin their terms on 19 June.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In March, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had welcomed the announcement by the US that it would seek a seat on the Council, saying it embodies the country\u2019s commitment to a \u201cnew era of engagement.\u201d<\/strong><\/em>
\n________________<\/p>\n

MEMBERSHIP IN UN RIGHTS COUNCIL BRINGS GREATER RESPONSIBILITY, SCRUTINY \u2013 PILLAY
\nUN News New York, May 14 2009 \u00a07:00PM<\/strong><\/p>\n

In becoming a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a country not only takes on greater responsibility for tackling abuses worldwide, but also lays bear its own record for the scrutiny of others, the world body\u2019s top rights official said today.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil membership is not a reward for good behaviour. It is a responsibility, one that exposes members to increased accountability before their peers,\u201d High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay wrote in an <“<\/strong><\/em>http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2009\/05\/14\/opinion\/14iht-edpillay.html?_r=1<\/strong><\/em><\/a>“>opinion piece published today in the International Herald Tribune.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

She noted that critics of the Council point to the fact that among its 47 members are countries with \u201cless-than-pristine\u201d human rights records.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTo those critics I say two things: Is there any country that has a blemish-free record? Human rights violations are not the bane of any particular country or region. And even if such a thing were possible, what impact would a club of the virtuous have on those outside?\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Ms. Pillay called the Universal Periodic Review \u2013 by which the human rights record of every country in the world, including its own members, is examined \u2013 one of the \u201ctrue innovations\u201d of the three-year-old body. Almost 80 countries have already been scrutinized.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This week the United States became one of five countries \u2013 along with Belgium, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan and Norway \u2013 elected to the Council for the first time. \u201cPresident [Barack] Obama\u2019s decision to seek membership is a welcome step to restoring international trust in US support for human rights,\u201d noted the High Commissioner.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

She added that participation in the Council is indispensable if States wish to influence how it develops, and also crucial to confront global human rights challenges and threats.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On terrorism, Ms. Pillay said that, in their countermeasures, the US and other governments have expanded executive power at the expense of the legislature and the courts, and eroded many of the most basic human rights guarantees of the modern era. \u201cExperience shows that if checks and balances are not adequate, the margin of abuse is high.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough much more needs to be done, President Obama\u2019s determination to resolve the untenable situation of detainees at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, ban CIA prisons and implement the prohibition on torture in compliance with international standards is highly welcome,\u201d she wrote.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe US should also shed light into the still opaque areas that surround capture, interrogation methods, rendition and detention conditions of those alleged to have been involved in terrorism, and ensure that perpetrators of torture and abuse are held to account,\u201d Ms. Pillay added.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Geneva-based Council replaced the Human Rights Commission \u2013 which faced increasing criticism over the years as being ineffective and not accountable \u2013 in 2006.<\/strong><\/em>
\n________________<\/p>\n

For more details go to UN News Centre at\u00a0http:\/\/www.un.org\/news<\/a><\/p>\n

ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From two UN News articles: In becoming a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a country not only takes on greater responsibility for tackling abuses worldwide, but also lays bear its own record for the scrutiny of others, the world body\u2019s top rights official said today…<\/p>\n

She noted that critics of the Council point to the fact that among its 47 members are countries with \u201cless-than-pristine\u201d human rights records. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo those critics I say two things: Is there any country that has a blemish-free record? Human rights violations are not the bane of any particular country or region. And even if such a thing were possible, what impact would a club of the virtuous have on those outside?\u201d <\/p>\n

The General Assembly on May 12, 2009, elected 18 countries to serve on the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council for three-year terms starting next month, including \u2013 for the first time \u2013 Belgium, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Norway and the United States.<\/p>\n

The Assembly also re-elected Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Jordan, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Uruguay. All 18 members elected today will begin their terms on 19 June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,26,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights","category-ironies-hypocrisies","category-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3266\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}