The U.N. Human Rights Council concluded its main annual session on Friday, March 28. Before the start of the session, Freedom House published an updated report on Freedom in the World, which listed eight countries and two territories that suffer from the “worst of the worst” human rights violations: North Korea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Libya, Sudan, Burma (Myanmar), Equatorial Guinea, Somalia, Tibet, and Chechnya. The human rights records of another eleven countries and territories ranked just slightly above. Amongst the more than two dozen resolutions adopted by the council this session, only those on Myanmar and North Korea condemned “worst of the worst” violators. The situation in Somalia was addressed, but in a weak manner with government actions enjoying more praise than criticism. There was also a weak resolution on the Congo, a country in the midst of a large-scale humanitarian crisis. By contrast, Israel —ranked as “free”— was strongly condemned in five one-sided resolutions.
Archive for March, 2009
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March 26, 2009 – The following countries protested the one-sided nature of the UN Human Rights Council’s latest “Fact Finding Mission” on Gaza, in plenary statements explaining their refusal to support draft resolution L. 37 (“Follow-up to Resolution S-9/1 on the grave violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly due to the recent Israeli military attacks against the occupied Gaza Strip”): Continue reading ‘E.U., Canada and Japan oppose mandate of UN “fact-finding” mission’
At the U.N. Human Rights Council today, states undertook a discussion on racism and follow-up to the 2001 Durban anti-racism Declaration. All delegations that spoke condemned contemporary forms of racism and expressed commitment to a successful outcome of the Durban Review Conference, also known as “Durban II.”
At the U.N. Human Rights Council today, states debated Israel’s rights violations in the “Occupied Palestinian Territories” (OPT) and surrounding areas. The discussion began with the presentation of a report by Richard Falk, the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur on the OPT.
Continue reading ‘States debate one-sided, anti-Israel report’
Speaking today in an interactive dialogue with Richard Falk, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, the European Union said that the Council should soon take action to remedy the bias of his mandate:
While the report attempts to draw a legal analysis of conduct of all parties to the conflict, we wish to ask the Special Rapporteur, whether his mandate, as currently defined, allows him to look into the situation from all angles and present a full picture thereof? We wish to note in this regard that the mandate on the Occupied Palestinian Territories is the only special procedure which has not yet been subject to the review and rationalisation exercise by the Human Rights Council and we hope that it will be possible to complete this process soon. Thank you.
The U.S. also criticized the HRC mandate and Falk’s “biased and inappropriate” charges against Israel.
In informal consultations at the U.N. today, South Africa for the African Group presented the revised text of its Human Rights Council resolution on the “Elaboration of complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).”
Continue reading ‘Draft “Complementary Standards” resolution virtually unchanged despite protest’
Algerian ambassador Idriss Al-Jazairy, as head of the U.N.’s “Ad Hoc Committe on Complementary Standards,” has drafted an additional protocol to amend the International Covenant on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
Consultations on the Pakistani-sponsored “Defamation of Religions” Human Rights Council resolution continued today at the U.N. Human Rights Council with the USA and Canada proposing various amendments to significantly change the draft. The UK for the EU said that it was not proposing any textual changes because the Pakistani chair had said in the previous session that he would not consider making “fundamental” revisions.
Continue reading ‘USA and Canada stand up for free-speech, oppose “defamation of religions” concept’
There was an intense debate today at the U.N. Human Rights Council during the consideration of a report evaluating Israel’s human rights record.
With nine minutes left in Israel’s speech, Egypt called its first point of order, arguing that Israel was breaking procedure by not addressing recommendations on the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), the occupied Syrian Golan, and the attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Continue reading ‘Iran chastised for denying Israeli statehood’
South Africa, on behalf of the African group, conducted consultations today on its U.N. Human Rights Council resolution: “Elaboration of complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).” The purpose of the resolution is to advance the work of an Algerian-chaired committee, “The ad hoc committee on the elaboration of international complementary standards,” in which Islamic states and their African allies are attempting to add new legal prohibitions to existing international law that would define criticism of religion as a violation.
Continue reading ‘States debate need for “complementary standards” to the racism convention’
Palestine presented three draft resolutions in informal consultations: “The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem and the Occupied Syrian Golan,” and “Human rights violations emanating from the Israeli military attacks…particularly the recent ones in the occupied Gaza Strip.”
Continue reading ‘Japan highlights flaws in resolutions condemning Israel’
Draft outcome document to the Durban Review Conference, to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, 20-24 April 2009, based on agreed paragraphs during the Intersessional Working Groups in January and February 2009
Assess the progress made since 2001 in the combat against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and request all States to hand in one page with progress on the national level since 2001;
Notes the continued existence of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and inequality in all spheres of human life, and non compliance with specific obligations in the promotion and protection of equality at the national, regional and international levels and reaffirms the obligation of States to take action in this respect;
The U.N. Human Rights Council held informal consultations on the EU’s resolution on freedom of religion and belief, to be voted on next week. The room was packed, with several states taking the floor, including Egypt, Pakistan, Mexico, Bangladesh, China, USA, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Continue reading ‘China blah-blahs Durban 2 racism; Egypt protests’
During the debate this afternoon on Item 4: “Human rights situations that require the council’s attention,” Western states seized the opportunity to highlight human rights abuses around the world, especially where they are most violated, such as in North Korea, Sudan, Iran, Sri Lanka, the Congo, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia.
Continue reading ‘Countries debate human rights violations around the world’
· Pakistan as chair and sponsor of the resolution, opened by emphasizing that all religions should be protected from defamation, but there should also be a few references to Muslims and Islam. He said that there should not be a conflation between the problem of terrorist acts of individuals and a particular religion.
In a special appearance today at the UN Human Rights Council, Libyan Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr. Abdulssalam E. El tumi, said the following:
“The Palestinian people are still living under occupation and that’s for more than 60 years. The occupying force is practicing the worst kinds of violations of human rights, ignoring the principles of international law and international humanitarian law. It does not respect human rights at all. The destruction maneuvers and the killing attacks are ongoing and still fresh in our minds — the recent massacres of Gaza. The occupation war machinery has killed thousands of victims amongst the unarmed, the children, the elderly, the women. The entire world has witnessed the aggression and the scenes of horror and the pictures of infants dying without committing any sin or crime. The Human Rights Council must shoulder its responsibilities and act on ending these serious violations, forcing the occupying power to stop these practices and abide by international legitimacy. The occupation forces have persisted in ignoring all resolutions without any sanctions being taken against it. Refusing to comply to the resolutions of the international community confirms its disdain for the international law. Thus losing the conditions of admissibility in the membership of the United Nations. In this occasion we call on the Council to consider the suspension of the participation of the occupying power in the works of the council, which has devoted to the respect of international law. We also call on requesting a suspension of its participation in the United Nations and international organizations for the same reasons mentioned above.”
German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier — “EU threatens boycott of UN racism talks,” International Herald Tribune, March 16, 2009
[The conference] might be abused to produce one-sided statements [about the Middle East]… I am in favor of canceling participation in the conference, unless the documents are changed substantially within the next hours and days.
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen — Remarks to foreign affairs committee of the Dutch parliament, March 12, 2009
The document is unacceptable. My red lines are: religion is misused to stand above individual rights. There should be no excuse in the text to condone violence against homosexuals, anti-Semitism and Israel-bashing… I am actively involved in the matter. There will be no compromises regarding principles. I am aiming for a joint withdrawal of all EU ministers, unless the document is not changed. If this does not succeed, then I am not afraid to unilaterally withdraw from
U.S. Representative and Chair of House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman — Letter to the Los Angeles Times, “Stepping up on human rights,” March 12, 2009
President Obama sent a salvage operation team that quickly revealed that the opportunity already had been lost. There weren’t any willing partners to refocus the conference on fighting racism, xenophobia and intolerance. And so the president made the hard but right choice: The U.S. should not associate itself with this effort to vilify
During a debate at the U.N. Human Rights Council today, Islamic countries complained that a report on religious freedom did not adequately attack Israel, while daring to criticize Islamic countries. The report was presented by U.N. expert on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Ms. Asma Jahangir of Pakistan.
Continue reading ‘Islamic states: Religious freedom report does not sufficiently attack Israel’
Some thirty supporters of Sudanese president Al-Bashir gathered today in front of the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, urging the International Criminal Court to “interrupt the execution of the arrest warrant” against Al-Bashir, who was indicted last week for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A press release was distributed to passers-by, signed by two so-called human rights groups: the “International Action for Peace and Development in the Great Lake region” ; and the “International Committee for the Respect and Application of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights” (Comité international pour le respect et l’application de la Charte africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples). Both groups apparently have official NGO status with the UN, but appear to be functioning here more like “GONGOs” (government-operated NGOs), i.e., state-sponsored front groups that are anything but “non-governmental.”
The Khartoum regime was a little sloppy here in covering up its tracks. The non-governmental press release included the following very non-nongovernmental footnote: “The text was translated by the Permanent Mission of the Sudan to the UN in Geneva…”
By Marissa Cramer, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fellow at UN Watch
Human rights activists and other UN observers were surprised by South Africa’s opposition to recognizing gay rights during recent negotiations on the outcome document for the Durban Review Conference, whose stated aim is to combat racism, discrimination, and intolerance of any kind. The South African representative said that issues of sexual orientation go “beyond the framework of the Durban Declaration.”
The European Union had proposed a while back that the Durban II declaration include protection for gays. However, after strong opposition from Muslim governments, who invoked the omission of gay rights in the 2001 Durban text, the United Kingdom on February 18th suggested an amendment to list sexual orientation only as an aggravating factor, when it intersects with racism. This U.K. proposal prompted South Africa’s response.
The irony of South Africa’s opposition to recognizing gay rights is that it betrays the principles of its own constitution, which states:
Continue reading ‘South Africa betrays principles on gay rights’
At the High Level Segment of the UN Human Rights Council today, the FM of Netherlands took a forceful stand on Durban II, while Denmark and Italy also sounded an alarm. The EU (represented by the Czech Republic) and Belgium expressed concerns. Germany, Portugal and Luxembourg were weak. Relevant segments from their speeches follow below.
Czech Republic for the E.U. (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karel Schwarzenberg): We engage constructively in the preparatory process and are ready to full participate in the Durban Review Conference next month. Nevertheless, the EU cannot subscribe to the outcome of this conference, where the result would limit, or undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms. The EU remains committed to the Durban Review Conference and believes that the final text will in the end be much shorter than the current one and reflect our principles as we have clearly outlined from the beginning.
The Netherlands (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Verhagen): Reaching out to one another does not mean we will not always agree. It is safe to say that we will continue to have our differences. And that is legitimate. What is not legitimate is holding the entire UN human rights system hostage to those differences. Take the Durban Review Conference as an example. The Netherlands is firmly committed to eliminating racism and related forms of intolerance. We would like to report on our progress in implementing the Durban Declaration and Program of Action. But I am deeply disturbed by the turn this event is taking. The way in which the preparatory process for this review conference has been proceeding suggests that it is unlikely to be a useful exercise, a meeting that will really assist in reaching our shared objective: abolishing racism. I therefore fully understand why some countries have decided not to participate in these proceedings any longer. For the Netherlands, too, the draft outcome document is not acceptable in its present form. It does not focus on the main challenges to address the problem of racism. Instead, the thematic world conference is used by some to try to force their concept of defamation of religion and their focus on one regional conflict on all of us. To all the delegates who doubt the Netherlands’ intentions, I say this: we do want to participate and work together on a useful outcome — but not at any price. We cannot accept any text, which would: (1) Put religion above individuals; (2) Not condemn discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; (3) Condone anti-Semitism; (4) Or single out Israel. These are clear red lines for the Netherlands. That is certainly not what I have in mind when I call for a more empathic approach.
Continue reading ‘Dutch FM Verhagen ‘deeply disturbed’ by Durban II’
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