berserk
11-05-2006, 02:46 PM
United Nations human rights chief Louise Arbour on Wednesday welcomed the election of members to the organisation's new rights watchdog saying it marked a new beginning in the fight for fundamental freedoms.
The 47-member state Human Rights Council, whose members were chosen on Tuesday for the first time by a ballot of the U.N. General Assembly, replaces the Commission on Human Rights which had become largely discredited by political infighting. Critics, including Arbour and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said that the commission became increasingly hobbled because states whose rights' records were questionable had sought and won seats in order to shield themselves.
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/un/elections/index.htm) and Amnesty International (http://web.amnesty.org/pages/un-index-eng), have generally applauded the council, saying that it has a better chance of providing protection for victims of rights' abuse than its predecessor.
Arbour, a former Canadian Supreme Court judge, said the fact that the council's members had faced an open election and that they had given pledges to promote human rights was positive.
One of the biggest differences with the commission is that members of the council themselves will have to submit to a review of their records.
Source (http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-05-10T152756Z_01_L1073292_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-RIGHTS-UN-CA-COL.XML)
Some of the leading lights in human rights who have been elected to the new, improved 47 member council include Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia & Saudi Arabia. I can't wait till these countries submit their human rights records for review.
The 47-member state Human Rights Council, whose members were chosen on Tuesday for the first time by a ballot of the U.N. General Assembly, replaces the Commission on Human Rights which had become largely discredited by political infighting. Critics, including Arbour and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said that the commission became increasingly hobbled because states whose rights' records were questionable had sought and won seats in order to shield themselves.
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/un/elections/index.htm) and Amnesty International (http://web.amnesty.org/pages/un-index-eng), have generally applauded the council, saying that it has a better chance of providing protection for victims of rights' abuse than its predecessor.
Arbour, a former Canadian Supreme Court judge, said the fact that the council's members had faced an open election and that they had given pledges to promote human rights was positive.
One of the biggest differences with the commission is that members of the council themselves will have to submit to a review of their records.
Source (http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-05-10T152756Z_01_L1073292_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-RIGHTS-UN-CA-COL.XML)
Some of the leading lights in human rights who have been elected to the new, improved 47 member council include Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia & Saudi Arabia. I can't wait till these countries submit their human rights records for review.