US snubs Human Rights Council

2006-04-07 12:19

New York - UN chief Kofi Annan is disappointed the US will not seek a seat on the new UN Human Rights Council this year, his spokesperson said on Thursday.

"The secretary general is obviously disappointed that the US has decided not to participate in the election ... this year," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"However we very much hope that the US will continue to be an active player, to defend universal human rights and support the work of the Human Rights Council."

The council's first election is scheduled for May 9.

State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said earlier on Thursday that Washington would likely run for the new 47-member body next year.

Dealing with rights abusers

He added the United States would still back the work of the council, which Washington opposed as too weak, but would give more supportive countries a first crack at membership.

McCormack made it clear Washington would work closely with others to encourage the council to deal with serious rights abusers such as Iran, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Burma, Sudan and North Korea.

Meanwhile the president of the UN General Assembly, Jan Eliasson of Sweden, welcomed the fact that "the United States will work co-operatively to make the Council as strong and as effective as possible and that it will support and fund the Council," his spokesperson said.

Pragati Pascale said Eliasson also welcomed "the indication that the US is considering running for membership next year."

Previous body "ineffective"

Eliasson, who was recently appointed Swedish foreign minister, played a key role in persuading the General Assembly to overwhelmingly approve creation of the new human rights body last month.

Washington had long criticised the previous 53-member UN Human Rights Commission for being ineffective and loaded with notorious abusers such as China, Cuba, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

The Americans pushed for reform but opposed the move to replace the old body with a council that would be elected by an absolute majority of the 191-member General Assembly.

Washington insisted on a smaller grouping whose members would be elected by a two-thirds majority.

US decision "childish"

Reed Brody, special counsel for Human Rights Watch, meanwhile slammed the US decision not to seek a seat on the new rights council.

"It's childish that the US will not co-operate with the new Human Rights Council," he told AFP. "It co-operated for decades with the vastly inferior, old Commission. The Council would be much more powerful if the US joined and contributed its enormous influence."

Commenting on the likely reason for the US move, Brody said: "It might be that the US feared it would not win (a seat). It's unfortunate that the Bush administration's disturbing human rights record means that the US would have difficulty getting elected. This decision may be an effort to make a virtue out of necessity."

- AFP