Last week Israel's second-class status at the UN was again demonstrated by the defeat of the Israeli candidate for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Yehudit Karp is the committee's current rapporteur. In the past, she had been chosen by fellow members as vice-chair and was a seasoned, well-respected committee member.Her defeat follows the defeat of the Israeli candidate for the election to the UN Human Rights Committee in September 2002; the defeat of the Israeli candidate and sitting member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in August 2002; and the defeat of the Israeli candidate for election to the UN Racial Discrimination Committee in January 2002. In fact, the only remaining elected Israeli on a UN body anywhere is Mayer Gabay, vice-chair of the UN Administrative Tribunal -- whose term ends in December of this year and who is not permitted by general rules concerning time limits to stand for re-election.
"Palestine, Palestine, Palestine."
"Sharon, Sharon, Sharon."
But of course, other countries (particularly Middle Eastern) don't get the same level of scrutiny.
By contrast, Egypt has members on all six of the UN human rights treaty bodies. In fact, the Egyptian candidate for the Committee on the Rights of the Child was elected with the highest number of votes by the 191 parties to the Child Convention. This is despite the fact that the leading child rights international NGO (based in Geneva) put out an advisory to countries before the vote. It said: "NGOs feel that she is not very knowledgeable nor reliable on the issues ... due to her strong affiliation and history with the Egyptian government." Translation: When countries of interest to Egypt are considered by the committee, an Egyptian government official sits close to the "independent" Egyptian member just to make sure they get it right.
However, it's also in the middle of daily terrorist bloodshed. This is certainly an extenuating circumstance which must be taken into consideration. Government-wise, it is also the most free of the Middle Eastern nations.
Does this matter at all in the UN? Apparently not.
Israel is also the only UN member state denied membership in any of the UN's five regional groups, which elect UN bodies in Geneva. Elections in the UN are normally based on regional representation or slates prearranged by regional groups. Israel qualifies for membership in the Western European and Others Group (WEOG), composed of geographically diverse states including Canada and Australia. But WEOG, driven by states such as France, refuses to admit Israel to its Geneva operations. This has the consequence that Israel cannot be elected to a whole range of UN bodies. For instance, Israel cannot stand for election to WIPO -- the World Intellectual Property Organization. Similarly, Israel is prevented from running for the International Labour Organization's Governing Body.Lacking UN regional group membership in Geneva means that Israel is the only UN member forced to sit out consultations on draft resolutions and UN Geneva-based business of all kinds. Israel is refused any possibility of participating in the consultations of regional bodies in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development the World Health Organization. The meetings behind closed doors of regional groups at the Commission on Human Rights negotiate the language of resolutions on all subjects without any Israeli participation. In recent years, Sweden and Co. in the European Union have enjoyed negotiating an agreed-upon level of hostility on the myriad anti-Israel resolutions with Arab states on the commission, before Israeli diplomats got a copy of a first draft.
Even Israel's limited participation in the WEOG regional group in New York is circumscribed by the caveat that existing rotation schemes not be disturbed. The result? WEOG membership in the UN Economic and Social Council has already been tied up until 2021.As for UN staffers, official lists of the UN secretariat from July 2002 count 24 Israelis and 27 from "Palestine."
Algeria, Bahrain, China, Cuba, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and Zimbabwe pass judgment on human rights at the UN Commission on Human Rights. China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates specialize in the rights of women at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Iran is one of five members on the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan scrutinize the implementation of labour standards on the Governing Council of the International Labour Organization.
In the meantime, representatives and experts from the democratic and Jewish state of Israel are disqualified, blackballed, or left standing in the halls of UN bodies everywhere.
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...You don't really believe that most Americans know that much bout the UN?! *rollseyes*
If it is bout paranoia I'd go with Micheal Moore ... it must have something to do with the traumatized Pilgrim Fathers XP
Besides you only trust those who are in direct reach of you, means your local authorities, you don't trust your federal government neither as you don't the UN and other international orgs.
Ah, so Last_Commander decides to comment on my website.
Your assumption about the depth of American knowledge of the UN baseless until you demonstrate otherwise. Being an American myself, I've got more evidence to support my position, even if some of it is anecdotal. The point I was attempting to make is that lots of Americans see the hypocrisy in the UN's actions whereas Europeans and others tend to be more forgiving.
Posted by: Drizz on February 20, 2003 07:37 PMWell I tripped over the link to ya blog in the depths of my bookmarks ... XD
Uh and btw I didn't try to say that what you wrote was bulls***, it's interesting and I admitt I didn't know it 'heh' But I know of other similar things that go wrong in the UN and look macabre... but on the other hand name me one, only one such big global organization that works as good as the UN does... 'dun dun dun' time out Drizz XP
Besides you can find such stuff also in your own administration, just look at all those top ranked officials who were involved in the Iran-Contra Affair, had to resign because of that and got reactivated in high positions again by Bush jr.
Like the one Admiral who was in charge for the arms sold illegal to Khomeini and now is in charge for the Absolute Awarreness program *forget its official name* Yess he's the right man, once a liar now the comissionaire of truth and our privacy, that is indeed outrageous o.O
Of course, and those slimeballs of a bygone era have no place in a government. Understand that my opposition to some policy somewhere doesn't mean I agree with the policies the US Government has. I don't have time to detail *everything* that pisses me off, just the stuff that catches my fancy.
;)
Posted by: Drizz on February 21, 2003 01:39 PMIsreal is anti-UN because of it's insane religious agenda.
Posted by: Yo on October 25, 2004 05:45 PMthe UN has leaders like Kurt Waldheim, SS Officer in charge of deportations and
executions, and this guy is the one who invited Yasser Arafat to speak and then made the "Zionism is Racism" proclamation. Here is a little history on Kurt: he had participated in Nazi atrocities during World War II. Waldheim had always maintained that he had served in the Wehrmacht only briefly and that after being wounded early in the war, he had returned to Vienna to attend law school. In fact, Waldheim had resumed military service after recuperating from his injury and had been an intelligence officer in Germany's Army Group E when it committed mass murder in the Kozara region of western Bosnia. (Waldheim's name appears on the Wehrmacht's "honor list" of those responsible for the atrocity.) In 1944, Waldheim had reviewed and approved a packet of anti-Semitic propaganda leaflets to be dropped behind Russian lines, one of which ended, "enough of the Jewish war, kill the Jews, come over."
Humperdink's e-mail address appears to be undeliverable.
Here I try again.
Dear Inglebert Humperdink,
Seeking for Waldheim SS-officer I arrived on your message:
"the UN has leaders like Kurt Waldheim, SS Officer in charge of deportations and
executions, and this guy is the one who invited Yasser Arafat to speak and then made the "Zionism is Racism" proclamation. Here is a little history on Kurt: he had participated in Nazi atrocities during World War II. Waldheim had always maintained that he had served in the Wehrmacht only briefly and that after being wounded early in the war, he had returned to Vienna to attend law school. In fact, Waldheim had resumed military service after recuperating from his injury and had been an intelligence officer in Germany's Army Group E when it committed mass murder in the Kozara region of western Bosnia. (Waldheim's name appears on the Wehrmacht's "honor list" of those responsible for the atrocity.) In 1944, Waldheim had reviewed and approved a packet of anti-Semitic propaganda leaflets to be dropped behind Russian lines, one of which ended, "enough of the Jewish war, kill the Jews, come over."
Posted by Inglebert Humperdink at March 27, 2005 11:26 AM"
I remember that Waldheim also was candidate as President of the International Rotary. But because of protest he didn't succeed.
That occurred in the years 70, if I remember well.
Do you know something about the exact date?
Where Will Smith asks: "but on the other hand name me one, only one such big global organization that works as good as the UN does..." I can give a name.
It's the multinational enterprises owning and directing Zionist mafia, that occupies and terrorises the whole world.
This is what I call – to be clear- the multi-Nazionism.
Where I like and want to underline, that one has to take care to make the same clear distinction between Jews and Zionists, an between Germans and Nazis.
The firsts can merit our consideration, the seconds must be fought against as criminal organisations.
Thanks for your attention.
Best wishes,
Charles Destrée, historical researcher and former Dutch Resistance fighter against the German occupier (1940-1945).