The creation of a new Council is widely seen as an opportunity to open a new
chapter in the UN’s human rights work, which, though comprehensive and
respected, suffered from the tainted reputation of the Commission.
The Secretary-General, who proposed the creation of the Council last March,
subsequently explained that the Commission “in its current form has some notable
strengths and a proud history, but its ability to perform its tasks has been
overtaken by new needs and undermined by the politicization of its sessions and
the selectivity of its work.”
He envisioned the Human Rights Council as a standing body, able to meet
regularly and at any time to deal with imminent crises while conducting timely
and in-depth consideration of related issues. National leaders meeting at the
2005 World Summit resolved to create the Council and asked the General Assembly
president to conduct negotiations on the issue.
In November, Assembly President Jan Eliasson recalled that the Summit had
called for dealing more effectively with key issues, including human rights. “We
are now challenged to produce multilateral solutions,” he said. “And if we do
not pass that test of multilateralism, I think we are facing a very bleak
future.”
At this critical juncture, governments must hammer out the details of the
Council’s workings. Mr. Annan has been actively engaged in diplomacy on the
issue, raising the subject whenever possible and pledging to continue advocating
for progress.
The new Council is one piece of human rights reform. Together with the
doubling of regular budget resources for the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights over the next five years, officials said the Council signals the
revitalization of the Organization’s work in the field of human
rights.