Thursday, May 14, 2009

A human rights travesty

The United States has now joined the UN's Human Rights Council, one of the goals set by the Obama administration. Why this should be such an achievement is hard to see: the Council has done nothing but condemn Israel while blocking any investigation of serious human rights abusers such as Belarus, Liberia or Iran.

This is hardly a surprise, since 26 of the 47 Council members are from Islamic states; in addition, China is a prominent member. Why, one wonders, do U.S. taxpayers want to fund such activities? The Obama administration wants to reform the Council from within, yet the chances of that happening are non-existent.

Perhaps UN ambassador Susan Rice could spell out the advantages of closer cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which dominates the Council. OIC members in 1990 agreed to a sharia-compliant human rights declaration that makes a mockery of UN human rights. (Thanks to Eye on the UN.)

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