UN Human Rights Council

Canadian Native Groups Vow to Fight on for Land Rights

February 7, 2013

The sounds of drums and chanting outside the United Nations in New York battled to be heard over traffic recently. In a continuation of rallies and demonstrations held in front of the UN earlier in January, seven Native American protestors gathered behind a large purple banner to show their solidarity with the Idle No …

General Assembly, Human Rights

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US Foes of Disability Treaty Reflect Discomfort With UN

December 13, 2012

by Barbara Crossette

In blocking adoption by the United States of a global convention to protect the disabled, the Republican right signaled on Dec. 4 that it intends to stall or kill all international treaties sent to the Senate for ratification by the Obama administration. Even pleas from a frail and crippled Bob Dole, a former senator, …

Human Rights, US-UN Relations

6 Comments

WORLDVIEWS

The Last Throes of the Death Penalty?

November 20, 2012

by Christof Heyns and Juan Mendez

Mores in societies change over the years. While slavery, torture and public executions were once a global phenomenon, and foot binding and deadly duels were deeply entrenched aspects of regional cultures, they are no longer considered acceptable by the international community. In line with what the United States Supreme Court once called “evolving standards …

Human Rights, WORLDVIEWS

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New Human Rights Council Members, Some Already Sullied

November 13, 2012

by Alice Volkov

Eighteen members were elected by the United Nations General Assembly to the Human Rights Council on Nov. 12. The members, serving three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, join 29 other countries on the council. Of the 18 new members, only the United States was seeking a second term. The other states chosen were Argentina, Brazil, …

Human Rights

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BOOKS

Reasons to Love and Criticize the UN

November 4, 2012

by A. Edward Elmendorf

In his new book, “Living With the UN: American Responsibilities and International Order,” Kenneth Anderson forces readers who lean sympathetically toward the United Nations to consider why they support it despite its faults. On the other hand, the acerbic views of Anderson, a law professor at American University, about the UN are deeply colored by …

BOOKS, US-UN Relations

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Obama to Tell UN That Washington Values Engagement

September 21, 2012

by Barbara Crossette

President Barack Obama, criticized in an intense election campaign for not being tough enough with the rest of the world, is expected to tell fellow leaders next week why his administration thinks that cooperative action, not bluster or the flaunting of power, is a better policy for meeting the crises of this century. The …

General Assembly, US-UN Relations

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BOOKS

The Human Rights Council Gets More Respect

September 14, 2012

by A. Edward Elmendorf

The visibility of human-rights violations by the Syrian government amid the current turmoil owes much to the United Nations, particularly to its Independent International Commission of Inquiry, led by Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, a Brazilian lawyer, public official and professor. Such commissions are part of a growing number of tools used by the UN to …

BOOKS

As UN Monitoring Mission Dies in Syria, a New Envoy Is Named

August 16, 2012

by Dulcie Leimbach

The United Nations Security Council will not renew the mandate for the monitoring mission it set up in Syria this spring to supervise a peace plan that never materialized. The mandate for the UN Supervision Mission, called Unsmis, expires Aug. 19. The unarmed mission, renewed in July for 30 days, is down to 100 …

Middle East, Security Council

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Rights Violations Tarnish Democracy in South Asia

June 5, 2012

by Barbara Crossette

The mind-numbing daily reports of death and destruction in Afghanistan and Pakistan obscure a larger issue: the prevalence of political and ethnic violence across South Asia, a region dominated by India that includes Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Bhutan. Recently, the publication of two annual global reports on human rights – from …

Asia, Human Rights

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A Long, Long Way to Walk in Myanmar

May 17, 2012

by Tala Dowlatshahi

GENEVA — The victory of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Myanmar dissident, in winning a seat in Parliament has indicated a rapid shift toward democratic reform in the country. But Zoya Phan, a longstanding advocate for the Karen ethnic group in Myanmar, is cautious about the developments. Phan was …

Asia, Human Rights

3 Comments

Native Americans Still Suffer ‘Profound Hurt,’ the UN Says

May 8, 2012

by Barbara Crossette

The relationship between the United States government and the United Nations machinery of human rights reporting has been a troubled one. Over the years, numerous UN rights monitors – called rapporteurs — have often been unwelcome visitors, sometimes refused permission to visit institutions like prisons or courts in some American states. The reception got …

Human Rights

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Security Council Vents Frustration Over Syria Crisis

March 1, 2012

by Dulcie Leimbach

In a voice of rare unanimity on the situation in Syria, the 15-member UN Security Council conveyed its “deep disappointment” that Valerie Amos, United Nations under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, was turned down by the government to enter the country to assess the humanitarian crisis. The press statement was read by Mark Lyall Grant, …

Middle East, Security Council

3 Comments

Human Rights Chief Calls for More Action in Syria

December 5, 2011

by PassBlue

As violence continues unabated in Syria despite tough economic and travel sanctions from such big players as the Arab League, the European Union, Turkey and the United States, the head of the UN’s high commissioner for human rights has spoken out by calling for international intervention to protect civilians against government attacks. Navi Pillay, …

Human Rights, Middle East, Peace and Security

2 Comments

WORLDVIEWS

In Washington, the Human Rights Council Endures Scrutiny

November 13, 2011

by A. Edward Elmendorf

WASHINGTON — The United Nations Human Rights Council is attracting more attention here by both supporters and critics in the government and beyond. Some of the council’s defenders and naysayers, speaking at various Washington venues last month, ultimately expressed the same goal: to see the rights body improve. The council’s action last winter recommending …

Human Rights, US-UN Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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GOINGS-ON

Tibetan Buddhists Mistreated by Chinese, Rights Experts Say

November 8, 2011

by Barbara Crossette

Six United Nations experts on human rights issues have faulted China for what they call “severe human rights restrictions” on Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Sichuan Province, where monks and nuns have been protesting, some setting themselves on fire. The monasteries are outside Tibet proper, where Buddhist opposition has simmered for decades after a Chinese …