Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad
The United Nations faces a serious embarrassment if the government of Syria, which has spent weeks violently cracking down on protesters, is elected to the world body’s top human rights organization.
Since January, Syria, along with India, Indonesia and the Philippines, has been in line to win one of four seats on the UN Human Rights Council reserved for Asian nations. But that was before the recent uprising of the pro-democracy movement that’s threatening the Bashar al-Assad regime.
With the government having killed or wounded anywhere between 350 and 500 protesters, human rights groups and numerous foreign governments began lobbying to prevent Syria from taking a seat on the council.
The campaign against Syria comes as France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Portugal are pushing the U.N. Security Council to condemn the violence against peaceful Syrian demonstrators. The United States is reportedly supporting the statement of condemnation.
Arab governments have reportedly been urging Assad to withdraw its candidacy. New members to the Human Rights Council are scheduled to be approved by the U.N. General Assembly on May 20.
It would not be the first time that the Human Rights Council has been embarrassed by its members’ human rights violations. As recently as February, a council report praised the rights situation in Libya, which, in 2003, had actually been chosen to chair the council.
-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky
Campaign to Bar Syria from UN Human Rights Body (by Edith M. Lederer, Real Clear Politics)
Syria's Crackdown Undermines Claim for Seat on Human Rights Council (by Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service)
UN Human Rights Report Praises Libya (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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