Associated Press
New Draft for U.N. Rights Panel Circulates
By EDITH M. LEDERER , 02.02.2006, 09:40 PM

Countries seeking a seat on the new U.N. Human Rights Council would have to agree to a review of their own rights records with "gross violations of human rights" taken into account under a new draft circulated Thursday.

The latest proposal calls on the U.N. General Assembly to elect a 45-nation body - 15 more than called for by the United States - but leaves unresolved the question of whether the new council should be elected by a simple majority or a two-thirds vote.

Rights groups say only a two-thirds vote will ensure that offending nations will be rejected for membership in the council, which is intended to draw attention to - and help prevent - human rights abuses around the world.

"Without the two-thirds vote, the risk is that the worst abusers will continue to be elected," said Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.

The council is to replace the current Human Rights Commission, which has been widely criticized as an irrelevant body that is powerless to stamp out abuses because its members include some of the worst offenders and it has no mandate to punish violators. Members in recent years have included Sudan, Libya, Zimbabwe and Cuba.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton warned last month that the United Nations cannot play a global leadership role unless it establishes a new council that bars countries abusing human rights.

The new draft to create the council calls for the 53-member Human Rights Commission to go out of existence on June 15. The General Assembly would elect members of the new Human Rights Council on May 9 and it would meet for the first time on June 16.

The draft also calls for a 45-member council elected for three years from all regions, with countries allowed to serve a maximum of two terms. That means the five permanent Security Council members - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain - would not have permanent seats on the council as Bolton proposed last month.

A senior U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said there is no deadline to adopt the draft and the U.N. is hoping a resolution establishing the council will be adopted by consensus. The document was circulated by the co-chairs of an assembly committee trying to negotiate a text that would be supported by all 191 U.N. member states.

The United States wants a maximum of 30 members chosen primarily for their commitment to human rights by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly. Many developing countries want a 53-member council elected by a simple majority.

The draft says membership should be open to all countries but declares that "member states shall take into consideration the candidates' contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights and ... whether there are any situations that constitute systematic and gross violations of human rights" in the country.

Under the proposal, every member elected to the council must fully cooperate with the council and be subject to a review of its human rights record during its three-year term. The draft calls for "a universal periodic review" of every country's human rights obligations.

February 3, 2006

With Its Human Rights Oversight Under Fire, U.N. Submits a Plan for a Strengthened Agency

By WARREN HOGE

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 2 — United Nations negotiators circulated a draft resolution on Thursday for a Human Rights Council that would have standards for membership, means for timely interventions in crises and a year-round existence.

The proposed 45-member council is meant to replace the widely discredited 53-member Human Rights Commission, and its creation this month is seen as a critical test of whether the United Nations can adopt meaningful reform and redeem its scandal-tarnished reputation.

The commission is scheduled to begin its annual six weeks of sessions in Geneva on March 13, and diplomats believe the new council must gain General Assembly approval by Feb. 15 to be able to replace the existing body on time.

The commission has been a persistent embarrassment to the United Nations because membership has been open to countries like Cuba, Sudan and Zimbabwe, current members who are themselves accused of gross rights abuses.

In introducing his recommendation for the new council last March, Secretary General Kofi Annan said such countries sought participation on the panel to block examination of their own records, a practice he said "casts a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations as a whole."

Thursday's proposal, a refinement of a draft circulated in December, leaves open for further negotiation a critical element of Mr. Annan's recommended plan — a requirement that new members be elected by a two-thirds vote of the 191-member General Assembly.

Put forward as a way of weeding out notorious rights violators, the requirement is a step backed by the United States, European countries and human rights groups.

"The new text substantially advances the discussion and gives a good basis to achieve a stronger human rights council, assuming there is a decision to have members of the council elected by a two-thirds majority," said Peggy Hicks, the global advocacy director of Human Rights Watch.

The proposal maintains the right of regional groups to put forward a slate of candidates, but adds the requirement that there be individual secret ballot votes in the General Assembly on each country. Every country on the council will also be subject to a review of its rights records at least once during its three-year term.

Nations would not be eligible for immediate re-election after two consecutive terms, meaning they would have to step aside for a year before reapplying.

The proposal also says that the General Assembly should "take into account" whether applicant countries have been cited by the United Nations or "whether there are situations that constitute systematic and gross violations of human rights."

The new text strengthens the council's ability to respond promptly to human rights crises but weakens the language on preventing crises by stressing the need for "dialogue and cooperation" with offending countries. Late last year, human rights groups faulted the United States for scrimping on its support for the council, but Ms. Hicks said Thursday that the American engagement had "intensified substantially."

Benjamin Chang, a spokesman for John R. Bolton, the American ambassador, said the United States had no immediate comment on the revised resolution. "We have just received the text and we are studying it closely," he said.

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