NEWS: U.S. Loses Seat on U.N. Rights Commission

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010503/wl/un_usa_rights_dc_4.html

[mixed tidings here: "Also elected were Bahrain, South Korea, Pakistan,
Croatia and
                Armenia. Chile, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and
Uganda won
                uncontested seats."]


Thursday May 3 7:18 PM ET
                U.S. Loses Seat on U.N. Rights
                Commission 

                By Evelyn Leopold

                UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States was voted off the
                key U.N. Human Rights Commission on Thursday for the first
time since
                it helped found the body in 1947 to probe abuses around the
world.

                The United States came in fourth with 29 votes in balloting
for three
                seats allocated to Western nations that were up for
re-election. France
                received 52 votes, followed by Austria with 41 and Sweden
with 32 in
                a secret ballot among members of the Economic and Social
Council, the
                parent group for the 53-member human rights commission.

                The United States, Russia and India had served on the
commission, now
                based in Geneva, since its inception. Eleanor Roosevelt,
the widow of
                President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the first U.S.
delegate to the
                group and the main author of its 1948 landmark Universal
Declaration
                of Human Rights.

                Reactions were fierce, ranging from denunciation of the
United Nations
                (news - web sites) by Republicans in Congress to criticism
of the Bush
                administration for ignoring the world body, delaying dues
payments and
                isolating itself on some key rights issues.

                Others blamed the defeat on a group of countries accused of
human
                rights violations themselves who vote as a bloc to stymie
U.S. criticism
                of their actions. And Britain blamed it on deals among U.N.
members
                against the world's superpower.

                ``Understandably, we are very disappointed,'' James
Cunningham, the
                chief U.S. representative, told reporters, declining to
speculate on the
                reason for the defeat.

                ``We very much wanted to serve on the committee,'' he said.

                In Washington, a State Department official, who spoke on
condition of
                anonymity, said the commission would be weakened without U.S.
                participation.

                The official also would not speculate on the reasons for
the defeat but
                said ``there is no question that financial questions formed
an important
                background to this vote.''

                She was referring to the long dispute between Washington
and the
                United Nations over U.S. arrears and the level of the U.S.
contribution.
                The dispute has been settled in principle but Congress
still has not paid
                its $1.7 billion debt.

                In the U.S. Congress, Rep. Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat,
said
                the vote was an embarrassment for the United States and a
painful blow
                to U.S. leadership on human rights and democracy.

                ``President Bush (news - web sites) has dragged his feet in
getting key
                foreign policy officials confirmed. It is unacceptable that
we still have no
                U.N. Ambassador,'' she said, referring to the delayed
appointment of
                John Negroponte, a retired diplomat.

                But Rep. Henry Hyde, the Illinois Republican who chairs the
House
                International Relations Committee, attacked the United
Nations. ``This
                is emblematic of the increasing irrelevancy [inability of
the United States to use?]             of some international organizations,''
he said in a statement.

                Rep. Christopher Smith, a New Jersey Republican, attributed
the vote
                to U.S. attempts to secure a resolution critical of China
at this year's
                meeting of the commission.

                ``Stunning Development''

                At the United Nations, Singapore's ambassador, Kishore
Mahbubani,
                called the vote ``a stunning development.'' ``When I heard
it, I couldn't
                believe it,'' he said.

                British Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock, whose country has a
                commission seat, said U.N. votes often involved deals.
``This can mean
                less focus on the suitability of candidates. The U.S. has
tended not to be
                keen on doing deals,'' he said.

                Some Western diplomats said the Bush administration's
opposition to
                the Kyoto climate change treaty as well as its plans for a
missile defense
                shield, contributed to the loss.

                But Joanna Weschler, the U.N. representative of the New
York-based
                Human Rights Watch, said both Western and developing
countries bore
                grudges against the United States.

                ``In recent years, the United States often failed to
support important
                human right initiatives,'' she said. These include a
measure calling for
                AIDS (news - web sites) drugs to be made available to all,
the treaty to
                ban land mines and the International Criminal Court.

                ``It's not surprising that the United States was voted off.
But to punish
                the United States and reward Sudan, which was elected, is
clearly
                absurd,'' she said.

                Also elected were Bahrain, South Korea, Pakistan, Croatia and
                Armenia. Chile, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and
Uganda won
                uncontested seats. Failing to get seats were Iran, Latvia,
and Azerbaijan
                in addition to the United States.

                Saudi Arabia was not a candidate, as U.N. officials
reported earlier, but
                received a vote although it already had a seat on the
commission.