Monday
Oct012007
On the UN Human Rights Council
Issandr El Amrani
The Israeli government and President Bush are right about the UN Human Rights Council: it does not fairly spread blame for human rights abuses. But the problem is not that it blames Israel too much -- it does quite an appropriate job in that. It's just that it should also focus on other countries, including members such as Egypt (local human rights organizations even campaigned against their country's membership here!) and of course places like Sudan, Iran, China, North Korea or Myanmar.
But everything it says about Israel holds, and it doesn't mean it should change its mind about regularly reviewing human rights abuses in Israel and the Palestinian Occupied Territories. I can't say I like the Council's composition much, but then again I don't like the way the Security Council works either -- and that's much, much more important.
[I bring this up because a commenter left the link above.]
But everything it says about Israel holds, and it doesn't mean it should change its mind about regularly reviewing human rights abuses in Israel and the Palestinian Occupied Territories. I can't say I like the Council's composition much, but then again I don't like the way the Security Council works either -- and that's much, much more important.
[I bring this up because a commenter left the link above.]
Reader Comments (4)
Good on you, for linking.
If they held the world up to the standards they hold Israel up to, I think they'd find greater problems elsewhere, in quality, quantity. They would necessarily comment on Israel less, and then by contrast Israel v. Arabs would seem less glaring an issue.
For you to put the countries listed (in your post) in the same basket as Israel--implicitly comparing them--shows a terrible bias. Which is okay--you having your bias. But still. North Korea is pretty black and white. Sudan is pretty f*cking black and white. Myanmar? Come on.
Israel and the Arabs is by far a more sloppy and less clear issue than that, and not deserving of obsessive, one-sided condemnation. Especially not from a global body whose focus is supposed to the the entire, problem-ridden world.
Dan,
Sudan is a crisis, agreed, and it is acknowledged as such by the nations of the world most notably the US and EU. Egypt also has a disgraceful human rights record and even as an 'ally' of the US it does receive official pressure from the US and Europe to improve.
The reason Israel gets and deserves so much attention is that it is the only nation that has such a disgraceful human rights record yet receives little to no condemnation from the nations of the world.
Israel receives nothing but unequivocal official support from the US when the record shows that it deserves strong and unequivocal condemnation. Its official policies are in many cases illegal according to international law and its unofficial policies are often nothing short of horrifying.
In the last year 457 Israeli's and 10 Israeli's were killed according to B'Tselem. That included over 90 Palestinian children and no Israeli children. A number of those Israeli children were shot point blank, receiving gunshot wounds to the head or victims of indiscriminate aerial bombing.
Condemning Israel and applying pressure to it to clean up its despicable record and amend its illegal official policy will not come at the expense of other nations in need of examination. The world can afford to do both.
This cant go on without at least recognition and condemnation.
Noor Hammad
Apologies that was meant to read:
"A number of those PALESTINIAN (typo: wrote Israeli) children were shot point blank, receiving gunshot wounds to the head or victims of indiscriminate aerial bombing."
The idea that Israel's human rights violations (and they have a lot) are underreported (which is HIGHLY HIGHLY arguable considering how little you hear out of some other despotic countries) should not justify the one-track mind of the HRC. If the non-aligned crew want a more equal distribution of power within the UN (as they should), they can't continue to overlook the deaths of hundreds of thousands of other people just because of the latest retarded IDF mission that kills a bunch of 14-17 year olds ("children") throwing rocks. Equal power means equal justice and if you're going to try and explain why Israel deserves special treatment and Sudan doesn't you should record it on video and send it to Comedy Central-- you'll probably score a gig opening up for Dane Cook on his latest tour.