US not for UN HR Council ...

[maelorin]

Thursday, April 06, 2006
US will not seek election to new UN Human Rights Council
David Shucosky at 4:10 PM ET

[JURIST] The State Department announced Thursday afternoon in Washington that the United States will not be seeking membership this year of the new UN Human Rights Council [official website; UN materials; FAQ]. A spokesman said in a press statement ahead of a scheduled daily briefing:

There are strong candidates in our regional group, with long records of support for human rights, that voted in favor of the resolution creating the Council. They should have the opportunity to run....

Since the credibility of the Council depends on its membership, the United States will actively campaign on behalf of candidates genuinely committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, and which will act as responsible members of this new body. We will also actively campaign against states that systematically abuse human rights.

With a strong collective effort in the coming months to make the new Council effective, the United States will likely run for the Council next year.

Last month the US led a tiny minority of 4 countries opposing [JURIST report] the resolution [JURIST document] creating the council, insisting that it wanted more to be done to prevent abusive countries from gaining membership [JURIST report] on the body. There had been speculation that the US would not be able to secure the majority 96 UN General Assembly votes necessary for a successful membership bid. Cuba and Iran are two of the 40 countries that have so far applied for council membership [UN list]; 47 countries will be chosen on May 9.

The new body, which replaces the troubled UN Commission on Human Rights [official website], which held its last meeting on March 27 [JURIST report], meets for the first time in Geneva on June 19. Countries will serve a maximum of two three-year terms.

AP has more.

this has sooo gotta work better than the commission ... 47 on the council ...


"that the United States will not be seeking membership" ... "speculation that the US would not be able to secure the majority 96 UN General Assembly votes necessary for a successful membership bid."

Comments

[xtine-38.livejournal.com]

Not seeking membership, that seems a bit like announcing that you will not be applying to schools that you have no chance to get into. If abusive countries are being kept off the list, the US should be one of them. I am so embarrassed by this current administration that I have daily fantasies about emigrating.


So just to clear things up for everyone...
I will not be seeking admission from Harvard, Yale or Stanford medical schools. Uh...

[maelorin]

where will you be seeking admission?

[xtine-38.livejournal.com]

I trying for 2 US accredited schools that are located in the Caribbean. I want to focus on international med. and their programs seem a good match for me. Also it is 2 years on the island for the lecture part of med school and 2 years in the States for the clinical work. Then residency in the States as well. I like the flexibility in choosing where I will live and study and the chance to work with instructors who are from all over the world. Sounds like my kind of place.

[maelorin]

ooh! good luck :)

[arsenchik.livejournal.com]

Obviously, the United States opposed the creation of the council because it wanted to make sure that nothing bad gets said about its own abuses of human rights. Kinda reminds me of the International Criminal Court. We say that we want justice, but don't want it to be applied to us. Don't want anyone digging into who really was responsible for Abu Graib.

usa.

[maelorin]

the usa has always been persnickety about it's own people being only subject to usa law.

causes all manner of diplomatic 'fun' ... when us sailors get themselves into trouble in darwin, for example, if they're picked up by local police, they have to be handed over to us navy mp's.

our fedgov and the territory govts had to sign agreements to that effect before the us would even begin to negotiate stopping off there or using darwin as a supply/shagging depot.


[amongst my many bows, i have some passing expertise as a civilian military lawyer - i was working on a phd in international criminal law for a few years. the grand war on <insert noun here> put the brakes on that.]