The Shame of the United Nations... The Shame Of The US
The Shame of the United Nations
For all the spouting off that Ambassador Bolton may do, he is ignoring the fact that the US has had a heavy hand in derailing human rights efforts via the UN and other diplomatic avenues. Our record of compliance and support for human rights initiatives is poor at best. We circumvent international laws on a regular basis, especially since the beginning of our invasion of Iraq, the development of detention prisons at Gitmo, the Abu Ghraib fiascos, and our denial of events in Africa that should have resulted in international cooperation and intervention to stop genocidal attacks and crimes against humanity.
The US government holds to a very confusing standard of ethics and foreign relations, expecting everyone but us to adhere to treaties and principles of human rights and decency. It would be one thing if this was a mere single voice criticism, but there are complaints about our behavior coming from the Vatican, NATO, the UN and elsewhere.
I, for one, am not a big fan of dual or multiplicitous standards.
When it comes to reforming the disgraceful United Nations Human Rights Commission, America's ambassador, John Bolton, is right; Secretary General Kofi Annan is wrong; and leading international human rights groups have unwisely put their preference for multilateral consensus ahead of their duty to fight for the strongest possible human rights protection. A once-promising reform proposal has been so watered down that it has become an ugly sham, offering cover to an unacceptable status quo. It should be renegotiated or rejected.
Some of the world's most abusive regimes have won seats on the Human Rights Commission and used them to insulate themselves from criticism. Current members include Sudan, which is carrying out genocide; Nepal, whose absolute monarch has suspended basic liberties; and Saudi Arabia, where women have few rights. All are gross violators of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the commission's founding document.
For all the spouting off that Ambassador Bolton may do, he is ignoring the fact that the US has had a heavy hand in derailing human rights efforts via the UN and other diplomatic avenues. Our record of compliance and support for human rights initiatives is poor at best. We circumvent international laws on a regular basis, especially since the beginning of our invasion of Iraq, the development of detention prisons at Gitmo, the Abu Ghraib fiascos, and our denial of events in Africa that should have resulted in international cooperation and intervention to stop genocidal attacks and crimes against humanity.
The US government holds to a very confusing standard of ethics and foreign relations, expecting everyone but us to adhere to treaties and principles of human rights and decency. It would be one thing if this was a mere single voice criticism, but there are complaints about our behavior coming from the Vatican, NATO, the UN and elsewhere.
I, for one, am not a big fan of dual or multiplicitous standards.
posted by Jim Downey at 9:05 AM
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