Despite new name, U.N. rights panel still a disgrace 

March 19, 2007
Chicago Sun-Times
Original Source: http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/302696,CST-EDT-edits19a.article
'The world is watching to see whether this young council will live up to its promise. That's what U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said of the Human Rights Council, which in its previous incarnation as the Human Rights Commission failed miserably in addressing human rights violations, instead fixating on specious allegations against Israel. Can the world expect the marginally revamped body to start acting like the moral authority it's supposed to be? 
For the United States, which announced two weeks ago it would not seek a seat on the council, the answer is no. The very justified U.S. position is that to join the 47-member organization would be to give legitimacy to it and its continued persecution of Israel. Even after outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan, like many people embarrassed by the performance of the Human Rights Commission, brought about its demise, its supposedly reformed successor has continued issuing resolution after trumped-up resolution against Israel -- eight in all, all of them unanimous, with another four planned. 
The council plans to place Israel under permanent investigation for alleged violations of international law in Palestinian areas and to hear a report compiled by a U.N. special reporter that compares Israeli actions to South African apartheid. But what of the tactics of Hezbollah, to name just one bastion of terrorism? The Human Rights Council rejected a report on last year's fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon because it listed violations by the latter as well as the former. Never mind that Hezbollah triggered the conflict by abducting Israel soldiers or that Israel has a right to defend itself from terrorists. What's more, China, Cuba and Russia, all council members, have blocked investigations of their human-rights abuses. 
Last week, a mission the council sent to investigate the genocide in Darfur urged that all resolutions directed against Sudan from the U.N. Security Council and African Union be put into effect, including those relating to travel bans and the freezing of funds, assets, and economic resources of those who commit violations. But a bloc of Islamic states, China and Russia succeeded in stopping the Human Rights Council from accepting the mission's report. 
Until the council shows it can tackle fundamental issues such as genocide in Sudan and stop blindly persecuting Israel, it will remain an organization without moral or ethical portfolio. I am worried about the disproportional attention to Israel's violations, Ban said. That's a beginning, but until he says he's worried about the disproportional attention to Israel, period, while the council neglects human rights outrages around the globe, it's only a beginning. This council is a disgrace.