The United Nations Human Rights Commission was created in 1947 to promote human rights around the globe. When they are violated, it is required to press the international community to take action. But it has no enforcement powers.
Critics say especially in recent years, it has affirmed nearly every conceivable human right while ignoring flagrant human rights violations in some of the world?s most repressive regimes. What can be done about this was discussed at a recent conference organized by the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. Can consistency and integrity be restored to the Human Rights Commission?
The United States is an ambivalent member. It temporarily lost its seat in 2002 but has since regained it. Among its antagonists were authoritarian nations like Cuba and China. Lorne Craner, assistant U.S. secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, says the Bush Administration debated whether the United States should return to the commission.
?And there were some who said the thing had descended so far that it was not worth re-joining,? he says. ?There were others who noted that it was really the only multilateral body charged with advancing human rights, and as such it was a useful mechanism for us to be engaged in.?
Lorne Craner says the commission?s decline is directly related to the current make up of its membership. According to Mr. Craner, 17 of its 53 member states are led by undemocratic regimes that indeed do not respect human rights or the rule of law. ?If you trace the descent of the commission to its present sad state,? he says, ?it begins when more and more China, Cuba, Iran-type countries start getting on the commission. I?m not among those who think that the commission ought to be composed purely of pure democracies. I think there?s a place for a country like China, but I don?t think it?s a place for about 40% of the membership and right now those kind of countries occupy about 40% of the seats.?
As the United Nations has expanded over the years to include former colonies and newly independent countries, the general membership has changed and with it membership on the Human Rights Commission. Alison Kelly, political counselor at the Embassy of Ireland in Washington, says the organization?s mission has also shifted over the years.
?Perhaps it?s useful to remember that much like the real world, the commission has evolved significantly over the six decades since its creation,? she says. ?As originally conceived, it essentially fulfilled an academic function of discussing human rights in abstract legal terms and evolving new, universal standards, starting with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.?
However, in recent years the organization has expanded its mission by issuing country reports, critiques of human rights abuses in specific nations. The commission also has created Special Rapporteurs, top-level officials who report on certain topics of concern; for example, torture. Alison Kelly says both of these functions have drawn criticism from newer members, especially from the developing world.
?In broad terms, the developing world tends to see itself as being lectured and patronized by the developed world,? she says. ?There is a perception of the Western countries taking on the role of global moral policeman and imposing their perspectives, their values, their standards on developing countries whose history, traditions, standards and material circumstances are radically different. For their part the Western countries reject such a characterization. They emphasize that the standards they are applying and the values they are projecting are universal ones, accepted as such in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1993 Vienna Declaration.?
Alison Kelly says Ireland, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union, recognizes that this North-South divide has the potential to de-rail the Commission?s work. She says the European Union is working to bridge this gap.
Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, an American-based human rights group, says it is crucial that the democratic and free nations of the world unite and work together on the Human Rights Commission.