House Foreign Affairs Chairman: U.S. Must Withdraw from U.N. Human Rights Council
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
By Patrick Goodenough
(CNS News) – The chair of the U.S House Foreign Affairs Committee said Monday she will introduce legislation that makes U.S. funding for the United Nations contingent on reform. It also calls for the U.S. to withdraw from the Human Rights Council.
Describing the Obama administration’s attempts to reform the HRC as a failure, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said the U.S. should quit the HRC and “explore credible, alternative forums to advance human rights.”
The Florida Republican’s statement came as the Geneva-based HRC began the final week of a month-long session in which it will adopt up to six resolutions condemning Israel.
The disproportionate attention given by the 47-member HRC to Israel was one of the main reasons cited by the Bush administration for staying away from the council.
Ros-Lehtinen’s comments on the HRC formed part of a broader statement announcing her intention to introduce a revised version of a bill she first put forward in 2007.
When it joined the HRC in 2009, the Obama administration conceded that it was flawed, but argued that it could best work to improve the U.N.’s premier rights body from within.
Nonetheless, this week will see the council vote on the largest number of resolutions “dedicated to the demonization of Israel” in one session in its five-year history, according to Anne Bayefsky, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and editor of its Eye on the U.N. project.
Given the dominance of the Islamic bloc and its allies, all will likely pass.
Full article at:
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/us-must-withdraw-un-human-rights-councilAbout damn time. Not joining was one good thing Bush did. Of course, the Messiah shit all over that but hopefully this proposal gets followed through.
A partial list of the countries holding policy-making membership on the current Human Rights Council:
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Pakistan
Libya
China
Cuba
Russia
Pretty much a "who's who" of the worst human rights violators on the planet.
