UN Criticised For Hamas-Israel Resolution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
UN Criticised For Hamas-Israel Resolution

Geneva, January 5, 2009 — UN Watch, a Geneva-based non-governmental organization that monitors the United Nations, criticized a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution on the Hamas-Israel war that excludes mention of Hamas, including its firing of 10,000 rockets since 2001, and its responsibility for the current crisis by breaking the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on December 19, 2008.

“Another one-sided resolution from the U.N. Human Rights Council grants further legitimacy, impunity and encouragement to Hamas’ deliberate attacks against civilians, promising only more violence and victims -- and still more of the same emergency sessions,” said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.

“Driven by the powerful Arab and Islamic voting blocs, and an automatic majority from countries like China, Russia and Cuba, the U.N. is once again sending Iran and its violent proxies all the wrong signals, setting back the cause of peace and stability in the Middle East and around the world."

"When the U.N. gives a wink and nod to terrorist groups, it’s no surprise that -- according to a Harris poll released this week -- 75 percent of French adults, more than two-thirds of Italians, 67 percent of Germans, 65 percent of Britons, 63 percent of Spaniards and 60 percent of Americans say the United Nations does more good than harm," said Neuer.

              * * * * *

Latest Statistics on UN Human Rights Council Resolutions

Source: UN Watch, Dec. 2008 report, Eleanor's Dream, 1948 to 2008: The State of Human Rights at the United Nations

Total HRC Condemnations to Date: From its inception in June 2006 until today, out of a total 25 censures, the UNHRC has condemned Israel in 20 resolutions (click here for table), Myanmar in 4, and North Korea once. While the council addressed Sudan several times, and Congo once, it failed to pass any condemnatory resolutions against the Khartoum or Kinshasa governments, but only weak and ineffective declarations, some of which actually praised Sudan for its "cooperation." 

Out of a total 9 special sessions, 5 have been on Israel. Despite the pleas of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as well as current UN chief Ban Ki-moon, the HRC’s focus has become even more narrow than was the case under the former Commission on Human Rights.

Only 13 of 47 HRC Members Vote Positively: Out of 47 HRC member states,only a minority of 13 had positive voting records in our study of actions taken on 32 key resolutions. In order of highest ranking, these were Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Bosnia, Ukraine, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. Click here for full data and resolutions

Majority 34 of 47 HRC Members Voted Negatively: A majority of 34 out of the 47 HRC member states had negative voting records—casting ballots against independent human rights mechanisms or basic principles such as free speech—or supported counter-productive resolutions sponsored by repressive regimes. From bad to worse, these were: Guatemala, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Gabon, Cameroon, Ghana, India, Madagascar, Philippines, Angola, Jordan, Mauritius, Zambia, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, South Africa, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Russia, Sri Lanka and China. Click here for full data and resolutions

HRC Ignoring Worst Abusers: In 2007-2008, the council failed to address the world’s worst human rights violations. Of the 20 worst violators on Freedom House’s annual survey, the council censured only Myanmar and North Korea. While it did adopt resolutions on Sudan, these were non-condemnatory, weak, and ineffective, some even praising Sudan for its “cooperation.” Somalia’s violations were addressed as a matter of mere “technical consideration.” Even worse, the
council failed to adopt any resolution, special session or investigative mandate for: Belarus, China, Cuba, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Laos, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe. Click here for “How HRC Addressed Worst Abusers in 2008”

• The Spoilers Have It: While almost half of the Council’s 47 members are free democracies (49%), only a minority of these countries—about a dozen—have consistently voted in defense of the values and principles that the Council is supposed to promote. Instead, the body has been dominated by an increasingly brazen alliance of repressive regimes seeking not only to spoil needed reforms but to undermine the few meaningful mechanisms of UN human rights protection that already exist. Their goal is impunity for systematic abuses. Unfortunately, too many democracies have been going along with the spoilers, out of loyalty to regional groups and other political alliances.

• Current Composition of the 2008-2009 UNHRC:

* 24 out of 47 current UNHRC members (51%) fall short of basic democracy standards, with ratings of either Partly Free or Not Free.

* 32 out of 47 UNHRC (68%) members have a negative voting record on UN resolutions that promote human rights.

*  35 out of the current 47 UNHRC members (74%) have voted to restrict the independence of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

ends

© Scoop Media