Gary Fitleberg, November 30, 2004

A high-level panel on UN reform accused the UN Human Rights Commission of abandoning its goal of promoting rights in favor of protecting its members from allegations of abuse.

The 53-nation commission suffers from "eroding credibility and professionalism" and its task of pushing human rights can not succeed when pursued by countries "that lack a demonstrated commitment to their promotion and protection," the panel said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed the 16-member blue ribbon panel a year ago to propose ways the world body could combat global security threats in the 21st century. The panel on Tuesday gave 101 recommendations in a 95-page report.

To restore its lost luster, the rights commission should be expanded to give a seat to each of the United Nations' 191 member-states, its budget should be enlarged and its staff augmented by 15 independent experts, the panel said.

In addition, governments should name experienced human rights experts as delegates to the Geneva-based commission, rather than professional diplomats, it said.

Human rights groups, the United States and many European governments have complained for years that the commission is riddled with nations with abysmal records on human rights.

Members are elected by the General Assembly to three-year terms, based largely on nominations by regional blocs, many of which are uncontested. Among the current members are Cuba, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Zimbabwe, all targets of rights criticism.

Many developing nations argue Western countries single out abusers for political reasons and reject many resolutions directed against individual nations.

As an example of hypocrisy, they say resolutions typically target developing nations, while U.S. abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison go unmentioned.

It is also unclear whether critical resolutions would fare better in an enlarged human rights commission.

Governments critical of resolutions that single out individual countries banded together in a 191-nation General Assembly committee last week to kill resolutions denouncing human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and Sudan.

The committee blocked the resolutions after African nations argued the Europeans and the United States were politically motivated in pushing the measures.

Gary Fitleberg is a Political Analyst specializing in International Relations with emphasis on Middle East affairs.

Copyright © 2004 Gary Fitleberg