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For UN Human
Rights Council, 20 Countries for 18 Seats, Nigeria, Azeris
on the Cusp
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS,
May 12, updated -- The 2009
elections for the UN Human Rights Council, while
drawing last minute outrage from a range of non-governmental
organizations, seems largely a foregone conclusion. Most regional
groups, including the oft self satisfied WEOG, Western European and
Other Group, presented consensus slates with the same number of
candidates as seats. New Zealand backed down for the U.S., perhaps in
exchange for the U.S. dropping its candidates in the face of new UN
Development Program Administrator Helen Clark.
Freedom House,
a now hybrid group, sponsored a session with Saudi and Cuba
dissidents in the office of Bahai. Afterwards, Inner City Press asked
why Freedom House, unlike co-sponsor UN Watch, had joined a wider,
mostly liberal coalition. It is good to work together was the answer.
But the liberal coalition complained last time that despite their
endorsement of Zambia, Freedom House broke ranks.
UN Watch,
speaking truth to power, noted that some groups it left unnamed have
a revolving door with the UN system. They were diplomatic, not
wanting to attack their Geneva colleagues. But it is not rocket
science: Human Rights Watch in Geneva has a director from the UN. The
door spins the other way, too: to be appointed a special rapporteur
now requires the support of member states, “the Pakistan's of the
world,” as one NGO put it. Those seeking careers in human rights
are holding their tongues. Careerism is a killer, in this field as
others.
HRC ceiling in Geneva, development aid funds used?
The slates, for
election on May 12, include only 20 countries running for 18 seats.
The only contested regions are Africa (six candidates for five seats;
only Nigeria did not submit a voluntary pledge, according to the GA;
Mauritius or more likely Djibouti may end up with the short end of
the stick) and Eastern Europe (three for two, with Azeris on the
cusp).
Only two will lose out -- if they don't drop out in advance in
the secret balloting. Freedom House has denounced Azerbaijan,
Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Russia and Saudi Arabia. This last,
at a Freedom House event last week, was said to receive UN / UNDP
electoral assistance for an election that excluded women. There are
other UN silences that we will cover. Watch this space.
Update of 11:11
a.m. -- the vote was taken, and a 45 minute adjournment was
announced. In the upper deck, Susan Rice was in the US seat. It
wasn't clear if she would speak and take questions afterwards.
Mexico's Claude Heller spoke with the Press for ten minutes, while he
took congratulations in advance from other Ambassadors. A senior UN
political adviser was unwilling, when asked, to commit himself to a
prediction. He said there might be a sympathy vote for Djibouti due
to their problems with Eritrea. Then again, Djibouti has both French
and US bases.
The
African
backstory is that Kenya horned in, but if both Mauritius and Djibouti
are elected along with Kenya, one of the three Regional
Group-endorsed candidates from West Africa will lose out...
Update of 12:26 p.m. -- news flash: Djibouti and
Mauritius both made it, Kenya bounces, for breaking protocol, it seems.
Aberbaijan, as we predicted, lost. But Kenya? Mea culpa...
Click here
for an Inner City Press YouTube channel video, mostly UN Headquarters
footage, about civilian
deaths
in Sri Lanka.
Click here for Inner City
Press' March 27 UN debate
Click here for Inner City
Press March 12 UN (and AIG
bailout) debate
Click here for Inner City
Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click
here
for Feb.
12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
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Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017
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718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available
in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
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2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
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