What's New

Resources updated between Monday, September 25, 2006 and Sunday, October 1, 2006

September 29, 2006

Mark Malloch Brown

First of all it is not known for sure if Malloch Brown is leaving or he will be kept on by the new Secretary-General. Rumors of deal-making, by the usual anti-American contingent at the UN, to keep him on board are flying around. In the meantime, he notches up his rant about the evils of America while sensitive to the preferences of the genocidal regime in Sudan. Courtesy of the American taxpayer, who pays 25% of his salary.

In defence of the United Nations Article

An update on the UN Commission of Inquiry on Lebanon set up by the Second Session of the Human Rights Council. The Commission's mandate alone indicates the bias -- "the systematic targeting and killings of civilians by Israel in Lebanon" and assessing "the extent and deadly impact of Israeli attacks..." There is no Commission of Inquiry into the use of Lebanese human shields by Hezbollah or the thousands of rockets Hezbollah used to murder Israelis.

Letter from the members of the Commission of Inquiry on Lebanon addressed to the President of the Human Rights Council Development

John Dugard, UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, is the UN human rights system's chief spokesperson for Palestinian terrorists. Says Dugard in this report: "the root cause of the security threat is the continued occupation," and once again suggests Israel is an "apartheid regime." In this "fact-finding" mission to Gaza (in which he never actually visited Gaza) he refers to the Middle East Quartet's (U.S., Russia, EU, UN) "punitive measures designed to compel Hamas to change its ideological stance, or to bring about regime change" as "unfortunate."

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967 Development

Cuba, Algeria, Sri Lanka, India, Morocco object to criticism of their human rights records by NGOs and the President of the Human Rights Council allows them to silence the discussion. (RT)

Webcast of the Statements by Non Governmental Organizations and Statements on the Organization of Work by Human Rights Council Members Development

According to Indonesia, the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights must be geographically representative - ie job selection on the basis of geography = "even-handedness."

Statement of Indonesia on Reports, Studies and other documents prepared by the Secretariat, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary General Development

Iran - that paragon of human rights - urging the UN Human Rights Council to eliminate country-specific criticism: "...we are of the particular view that the mandate of the country specific procedures should no longer be the part of the system and thus should be terminated in the course of our reform. These procedures, if continued on the basis of selectivity, will serve as a negative force to further polarize and politicize the existing international human rights debate. The key question...is not whether they are independent or non-partisan or otherwise, rather the key element is the already politicized or polarized environment in which these procedures are created which it seems will never change in the UN."

Statement of Iran on the Reports of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Report of the Joint Inspection Unit Development

Algeria on behalf of the African Group, mounting another takeover bid of the staff of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, this time by alleging a staff which isn't a mirror image of the General Assembly means "cultural bias."

Statement of the African Group on the Reports of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Report of the Joint Inspection Unit Development

September 28, 2006

September 27, 2006

September 26, 2006

September 25, 2006

Afghan police said a gunman killed the head of the Kandahar province Women's Affairs department outside of her home. Police said the unidentified killer, who rode a motorcycle, shot Safia Amajan, a campaigner for women's rights who had headed the women's affairs department since the Taliban was overthrown in 2001, as she left her home, the BBC reported Monday.

Afghanistan Human Rights Voice