UN: Vote On Human Rights Council In Limbo Over U.S. Objections

U.S. Ambassador Bolton said that "real change" is needed (epa) The United States has rejected a UN compromise draft for a new Human Rights Council calling it "insufficient" and with "manifold deficiencies." But at the same time senior UN officials, several Noble Prize laureates, a former U.S. president, a number of UN member states, and nongovernmental organizations have expressed support for the plan. Still, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that he is hopeful the plan will proceed to a vote in the UN General Assembly this week. In view of Washington's strong opposition, however, prospects for a vote are uncertain and behind-the-scenes diplomacy is gaining speed.

UNITED NATIONS, 28 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton said that his government's rejection of the proposal is "more in sorrow than in anger."

But, speaking on 27 February, he said Washington is very disappointed with the draft and does not think it is acceptable.

"We want an effective change in the Human Rights Commission, which is obviously broken beyond repair," Bolton said. "We're disappointed that we weren't able to get the kind of important change that we need. And we remain committed as I said, to try to persuade other nations that cosmetic reform alone is not sufficient, that we need real change in the way the human rights decision-making mechanism in the UN functions."

The United States intends to reopen the negotiations and to try to correct the "deficiencies" or, alternatively, to put off the vote on the resolution for several months to give more time for negotiations. Bolton said that if the vote is called now, the United States will vote against it.

Inefficient and Cumbersome

Among the U.S. objections are what it calls the inefficiency of the mechanism for expelling member states that are human rights violators from the Human Rights Council. Washington is also unhappy about the council's proposed size -- 47 states. Washington would be happier with a more compact body.


UN General Assembly President Jan Eliasson wrote the compromise draft to which the United States objects. In his proposal he included strong language regarding what would be expected from states having membership in the new Human Rights Council. He also put in provisions for suspending members who have committed gross human rights violations.

"We need to make sure that we consider human rights as a serious obligation and if there are serious violations, gross violations of human rights, we are now introducing something absolutely new, namely, a suspension possibility," Eliasson said on 27 February.

Wide Support Eleswhere

The proposal has gained considerable support from a number of member states, including France, one of the UN Security Council's five permanent members. And there is support from a dozen nongovernmental organizations, and several Nobel laureates. Prominent supporters include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

Eliasson's spokeswoman, Pragati Pascale, said on 27 February that member states are still awaiting responses from their capitals to the proposed text.

"President Eliasson is still hoping for a consensus, for action by consensus," she said. "It's still quite up in the air. He's awaiting responses, he's expecting responses to come in today and tomorrow. Action could happen quite quickly, it's just that everything is still in process."

Secretary-General Kofi Annan (CTK)

The proposal envisions a direct individual vote on candidates from the UN member states by secret ballot. To gain a seat on the council would require a state win a simple majority of votes. There also would be a mechanism to review the human rights record of all member states. And there would be the possibility to convene special sessions in emergency situations.

The proposed council would replace the UN Human Rights Commission, which has been criticized for having member states like Cuba, Sudan, and Zimbabwe whose governments are accused of widespread human rights abuses.

Marie Okabe, the UN secretary-general's deputy spokeswoman, said that if negotiations are reopened it would lead to major delays and could cause serious problems. The United Nations has been on shaky ground for months, plagued by scandals for corruption and sex abuses.

"He [Secretary-General Annan] appeals to member states to understand this, that this is not a perfect world," Okabe said. "Since he was the one who put forward these proposals, he would have liked to have gotten, obviously, everything he did put forward, but the world does not work like that. He accentuated that there are enough positive elements to move forward."

Replacing the commission, which Annan has strongly advocated, has divided the 191-member UN General Assembly and sparked months of political debate.

Annan spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on 26 February to discuss the Human Rights Council situation, Okabe said.

But the remaining sharp differences between the UN Secretariat and the United States, the UN's most influential member, make the prospect for a vote this week uncertain.