THE UN: The latest proposal for a new United Nations human rights council calls on the General Assembly to elect a 45-nation body taking into account a country's human rights record - but rights groups warn that offending nations could still gain membership.
The new draft, circulated yesterday by the co-chairs of an assembly committee trying to negotiate a text that would be supported by all 191 UN member states, leaves unresolved the question of whether the new council should be elected by a simple majority or a two-thirds vote.
"Overall we think it's a significant advance and contains the elements necessary for a stronger council but the key will be achieving the two-thirds vote for election of council members," said Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "Without the two-thirds vote, the risk is that the worst abusers will continue to be elected."
US ambassador John Bolton warned members last month that the UN cannot play a global leadership role unless it establishes a new council that bars countries abusing human rights.
At a summit in September, world leaders agreed to create a new human rights watchdog to replace the current Human Rights Commission, which has been widely criticised 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.
But world leaders left the details to the deeply divided General Assembly.
The new draft resolution, circulated by Panama's UN ambassador, Ricardo Arias, and South Africa's UN ambassador, Dumi- sani Kumalo, calls for the 53-member Human Rights Commission to finish its work at the March session and go out of existence on June 15th. The assembly would elect members of the new human rights council on May 9th and it would meet for the first time on June 16th.
The informal committee headed by Mr Arias and Mr Kumalo is scheduled to take up the new draft on Monday. A senior UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is no deadline and the UN is hoping a resolution establishing the council will be adopted by consensus.
The size of a new council is an issue, as is its composition and election. The US 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.