Friday, March 17, 2006
UN RhetIraq: New Human Rights Council
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
Quotes: From article titled, "America can't block UN's new human rights body"
In an unusual split with the US, Australia was one of the 170 countries that supported a new body to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission.
The Human Rights Council will have upgraded status, will be a standing body which meets regularly - the old commission met for just a few weeks each year - and hold special sessions to deal with a crisis.
The new council is one of the more important UN changes which the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has been calling for, and which came out of the summit of world leaders last September.
... The new body will be elected by the entire General Assembly.
The US was one of just four countries to oppose the new body, and demanded that each country's vote be recorded. Israel, the Marshall Islands and Palau also voted against it.
Mr Bolton said the US objected to dropping the requirement that two-thirds of the countries in the General Assembly had to support a candidate state for it to be elected to the council. Instead, members will be elected by a simple majority.
Mr Bolton also said that countries which were subject to sanctions for human rights abuses or for supporting terrorism should also be barred.
Australia, in a joint statement with New Zealand and Canada, said it would have liked a two-thirds requirement for membership, and tougher provisions for preventing abusers of human rights being elected, but voted in favour anyway.
... The first vote for the council will be in May.
Quotes: From article titled, "America can't block UN's new human rights body"
In an unusual split with the US, Australia was one of the 170 countries that supported a new body to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission.
The Human Rights Council will have upgraded status, will be a standing body which meets regularly - the old commission met for just a few weeks each year - and hold special sessions to deal with a crisis.
The new council is one of the more important UN changes which the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has been calling for, and which came out of the summit of world leaders last September.
... The new body will be elected by the entire General Assembly.
The US was one of just four countries to oppose the new body, and demanded that each country's vote be recorded. Israel, the Marshall Islands and Palau also voted against it.
Mr Bolton said the US objected to dropping the requirement that two-thirds of the countries in the General Assembly had to support a candidate state for it to be elected to the council. Instead, members will be elected by a simple majority.
Mr Bolton also said that countries which were subject to sanctions for human rights abuses or for supporting terrorism should also be barred.
Australia, in a joint statement with New Zealand and Canada, said it would have liked a two-thirds requirement for membership, and tougher provisions for preventing abusers of human rights being elected, but voted in favour anyway.
... The first vote for the council will be in May.
