New UN rights body has been a failure particularly in Darfur: US

Nov 10, 2006 (UNITED NATIONS) — The U.S. blasted the new U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday, saying it has failed to address serious human rights violations in its first few months of operation – particularly in the Darfur region of Sudan.

In response, Sudan attacked the U.S. for its human rights record, saying it had no right to judge other countries or the effectiveness of the rights body.

The barbs came during the Human Rights Council’s first-ever report to the General Assembly. The U.S. isn’t a member of the council, which was created earlier this year to replace the highly politicized and much-maligned U.N. Human Rights Commission.

Miriam Hughes, head of the economic and social development section of the American mission to the U.N., criticized the council for a “slow and discouraging start,” saying it has “accomplished little that will make a concrete and significant difference in the lives of millions around the world.”

Hughes said the council has failed to reach agreement on how to address “egregious violations of human rights in places such as Sudan,” where more than 200,000 people have been killed in fighting between the army and rebels in the last three years.

Referring to the two special sessions the council has held to discuss alleged human rights violations by Israel, she also said some nations view the council “as just another arena in which to play political games.”

“Sadly, so far, the Human Rights Council, into which was put so much hope and work, has been a disappointment,” Hughes said.

In his speech to the General Assembly, Sudanese diplomat Idrees Mohamed Ali Mohammed Saeed called the American criticisms “amazing and ridiculous.”

“Everybody knows the magnitude of the gross violations of human rights in the United States,” said Saeed, the second secretary of the Sudanese mission. He cited as examples the treatment of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center and the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

“We call upon the United States to address the human rights situation at home first and not to use and abuse the forums of human rights to settle political scores and achieve its objectives,” he said.

Reached later by telephone, Hughes had no immediate comment on Saeed’s statement.

The U.S. has been one of the most vocal critics of the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan, which has also left 2.5 million people homeless in the last three years.

U.N. investigators and rights groups have blamed the bulk of the atrocities on the Janjaweed, a pro-government militia that is widely accused of killing villagers and setting fire to their homes. The government denies supporting the Janjaweed.

The U.S. opposed the establishment of the Human Rights Council earlier this year, saying it did not go far enough to prevent rights abusers from winning seats, and decided against being a candidate for the body. Cuba, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia won seats despite their poor human rights records.

Sudan isn’t a member of the council.

The group, which began its work in June, held two special sessions this summer to discuss the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-Hezbollah war in Lebanon. One of the U.S.’s main criticisms of the former Human Rights Commission was that it spent a great deal of time criticizing Israel.

(AP)