Posted on 02/09/2005 11:58:32 AM PST by Joe Taranto
The United Nations has chosen a group of nations which will decide the agenda for its next Human Rights Commission meeting. The only problem is that three of those nations are human rights abusers themselves.
The U.N. has chosen Cuba, Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia to join the “Working Group on Situations,” which will plan the course for effectively dealing with human rights violations. The panel also includes Hungary and the Netherlands.
The U.S. State Department has denounced the choices of Cuba and Zimbabwe, which Secretary Condoleeza Rice called “outposts of tyranny” in her confirmation hearings.
“The United States believes that countries that routinely and systematically violate the rights of their citizens should not be selected to review the human rights performance of other countries,” said Tom Casey of the State Department press office.
The State Department does not place Saudi Arabia in that category, despite violations of religious freedom cited by human rights groups such as the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The group says that the nation bans all religions except the government’s interpretation of Islam, and has tortured and detained those who have publicly practiced a non-Muslim religion.
In September, Saudi Arabia joined China, Iran, North Korea, and others on the State Department list of “countries of particular concern” for human rights violations. However, the department maintains that there is a reform movement underway in the Saudi Arabia, which includes local elections, scheduled for this week.
For now, the State Department says, it can only urge the group to “conduct its procedures in a balanced and transparent manner.” The main function of the group is to determine the admissibility of human rights complaints, before they are heard by a 53-member commission.
Maybe next time, the U.N. could tap Osama Bin Laden to head up a committee on fighting terrorism.
I guess they're operating under the "it takes one to know one" ideal.
Perhaps it's a form of sensitivity training for them.
Some things just never change, do they? And the politicians want us to trust this body?
Good grief. You'd think these jerks would know better by now. Cheez.
This will get filed under the "somehow I am not surprised" file. :)
What's next? Slickster heading a Sexual Harassment Prevention seminar?
Yep. I don't know how the U.N. can possibly expect to do this, when a majority of the human rights complaints will likely be COMING FROM Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Zimbabwe. Why not just add Sudan, China, North Korea and Iran, so that we could further avoid dealing with this issue. Thank GOD the U.N. did not join us in the war!
Good one
The U.N. has chosen Cuba, Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia to join the “Working Group on Situations,”
“We’ve finally translated their recommendations on treating political dissidents! Run! It’s a cook book!”
Good, because we wouldnt want to offend them in the least. Supose we left them out of this? They have feelings too. (That also means the UN would have done something right.)
Oh, good. Now let's just put Thailand in charge of sexual slavery, Indonesia in charge of religious tolerance, Mexico in charge of immigration reform, and Ethiopia in charge of agriculture. Then they should host a big party and put England in charge of catering.
Get US out of the UN and UN out of the US!!
I thought the Sudan, China, and N. Korea were already on the human rights committe......
Go to: http://www.getusout.org/un/index.html . Then go lobby at http://www.conservativeusa.org/megalink.htm .
The United Nations is a corrupt disgrace and it is time for the USA to WITHDRAW from and defund the United Nations. Please tell your senators, congressmen and everyone you know to support Representative Ron Paul’s bill H.R. 1146 which would WITHDRAW the USA from the United Nations, prohibit US funds going to the UN and prohibit US troops serving under UN command. H.R 1146 is the American Sovereignty Restoration Act.
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