(Boston Globe) Editorial - In seeking a seat on the UN Human Rights Council last year, the Obama administration hoped to reform the council from within. But the Obama team's hope is a long way from fulfillment, as the General Assembly proved earlier this month when it voted overwhelmingly to give Libya a seat on the council. Dictator Moammar Khadafy's Libya was recently depicted by a coalition of 37 human rights groups as "one of the world's most brutal and longest-running tyrannies.'' Yet Libya was elected to the Human Rights Council with the support of 155 nations - 80% of the UN membership. If the Obama administration wants the council to change, the U.S. must start objecting vocally to the composition of the panel. The administration has proved its UN bona fides by joining the Human Rights Council and restoring U.S. funding. But if it is serious about reform, it must also speak out, candidly and bluntly, against allowing the council to operate as a club of dictatorships.
2010-05-28 10:17:22Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive