10 - 16 May 2001
Issue No.533
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 10 - 16 May 2001 Issue No.533 |
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US kicked out of UNHRC
In an unprecedented and far-reaching development, the US has lost its seat in the world's most important human rights organisation, reports Gamil Ibrahim from Geneva
European and Third World diplomats concerned with human rights issues have welcomed the ousting of the United States from the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC). The US had stood against the interests of a majority of countries, especially Third World nations. Washington had worked against paying overall attention to economic, social and cultural rights, insisting instead on a narrow interpretation of personal and individual rights.
Moreover, Washington had insisted on blind support of Israel regardless of the atrocities committed against the defenceless Palestinian people. This blatant disregard for the Palestinian cause incensed many Third World nations. For 54 long years, the US has imposed its narrow and self-serving views and will on the rest of the world. Washington's double standard was a constant cause of concern and frustration for Third World representatives at the UNHRC.
For the first time ever, the presence of US representatives was not taken for granted. Even Western nations, presumably US allies in the European Union, such as France, Sweden and Austria, failed to vote for the US, effectively booting it out of the UNHRC.
Ambassador Saad El-Faragli, the Arab League representative to the UNHRC said: "This is the first time since 1947 that there was no automatic re-election of the US to the UNHRC. The US seat was not a forgone conclusion. This is an unprecedented development, and has serious international implications. It is also indicative of a new international mood."
Ambassador El-Faragli went on to say that the US based its human rights policy on a narrow definition focusing on individual rights and market mechanisms. It also flexed its muscles and tended towards gross interference in the domestic affairs of other countries. Moreover, Washington refused to tackle the development and social and economic concerns of Third World countries, insisting that those socio-economic concerns were not to be included in the human rights arena. "Developing countries had argued that the right to education, good, affordable and easily accessible health care was an inalienable human right," El-Faragli said. "The US disagreed, thereby antagonising most Third World countries."
Nabil Al-Ramlawi, ambassador of Palestine to Geneva, said the ousting of the US from the UNHRC signalled a strong message to the US that it was pursuing erroneous policies. "The international community is fed up with US hegemony, Washington's double standards and unwavering backing for Israel," he said.
The US ambassador to the UN, James Cunningham, speaking from New York, said he regretted the UNHRC decision and was shocked that the US had been voted off the esteemed UN body.
Some Western envoys blamed the ousting of the US on the huge debt Washington had incurred from not paying its dues to the UN. The diplomats also said the Bush administration's stand on the environment and his hawkish posturing had played an important part in the US failure to be re-elected. The US was opposed to the abolition of the international landmine treaty, and objected to the treaty creating an international criminal court. Washington also rejected a resolution calling for cheap generic HIV/AIDS retroviral drugs to be made available to poor people worldwide, and especially in poor countries.
The 14 new members chosen for the UNHRC, in addition to France, Sweden and Austria, include Sudan, Bahrain, South Korea, Pakistan, Croatia, Armenia, Chile, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Togo and Uganda.
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