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Pastimes : GET THE U.S. OUT of The U.N NOW! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: craig crawford who wrote (105)	4/29/2002 3:11:10 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 411

U.S. Regains Seat on U.N. Human Rights Commission The United Nations Monday, April 29, 2002 UNITED NATIONS — The United States on Monday regained the seat it lost last year on the U.N. Human Rights Commission. The 54-member U.N. Economic and Social Council approved an uncontested slate of candidates from Western nations that included the United States. The United States suffered a humiliating defeat last May when it lost the seat it had held since the commission was established in 1947. The ouster exacerbated U.S.-U.N. relations, caused an outcry in Washington and led to intensive behind-the-scenes lobbying by the Bush administration to get back on the panel. In March, Italy and Spain pulled out of the running for seats on the commission. That cleared the way for the United States to announce its candidacy for an uncontested seat on the top U.N. human rights body. "We are very pleased that we are back on the Commission on Human Rights," U.S. Ambassador Sichan Siv said immediately after the results were announced. "Human rights is a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. We have spoken, and we continue to speak on the issue, whether we are on the commission or not. But now that we are back on the commission, we look forward very much to working to continue to promote this very important issue," he said. At the recent Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva, the United States was an observer. As a full member again, Siv said the United States will be able to introduce resolutions, which it was unable to do as an observer. The United States has traditionally introduced a resolution condemning Cuba's human rights record. In the search for blame following last year's vote, fingers were pointed at a plethora of European candidates, the absence then of a permanent ambassador, U.S. withdrawal from the Kyoto climate change treaty, U.S. plans to build a national missile defense system, and U.S. refusal to ratify the treaty creating an international criminal court. The Human Rights Commission makes studies and recommendations for the protection and promotion of human rights, either on its own initiative or at the request of the General Assembly or the Security Council. Under U.N. rules, regional groups decide who fills seats on U.N. bodies. The United States is one of 29 countries in the West European and Others Group, known as WEOG. Last year, WEOG had four candidates for three seats on the commission. In a secret ballot by the 54 nations on the U.N. Economic and Social Council, the commission's parent body, France, Austria and Sweden won seats and the United States suffered a stunning loss. This year, WEOG unsuccessfully tried to find a long-term solution for an uncontested rotation of seats on the commission among the group's members. Intensive behind-the-scenes lobbying then began to get the United States back on the commission this year, without the need for another election. In Monday's election, there were four candidates for four WEOG seats: Australia, Germany, Ireland and the United States. The African and Latin American seats were also uncontested, giving Burkina Faso, Gabon, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe seats on the commission along with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Among Asian states, there were four candidates for three seats and China, Japan and Sri Lanka won over the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine defeated Hungary by a slim margin of 28 to 26 to win the Eastern European seat. foxnews.com