Romney calls global body a 'failure' By Jim Davenport October 18, 2007 Yahoo Original Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071018/ap_po/romney_un_2 Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney called the United Nations a failure on Thursday and said he would support a new coalition of the free nations of the world. The former Massachusetts governor said the U.N. Human Rights Council has repeatedly condemned Israel while taking no action against nations with repressive regimes. The United Nations has been an extraordinary failure of late, Romney said in response to a question at a pancake house along the coast of early voting South Carolina. We should withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council. Actually, the United States doesn't have a seat on the human rights council, which it has been boycotting. Romney also said he would support a new coalition of the free nations of the world and bring those nations together so that we can act together. We should develop some of our own — if you will — forums and alliances or groups that have the ability to actually watch out for the world and do what's right, Romney said. Romney was sharing the political attention in this state with GOP rival John McCain, who is on his second consecutive day of campaigning here. McCain, in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, accused both Russia and China of causing gridlock in the U.N. Security Council and hindering the world body's ability to sanction Iran or address pressing matters in Darfur, Burma and other trouble spots. If elected, McCain said he would form a league of democracies to circumvent the Security Council and enact tough sanction against Iran and other problem countries. Romney, who has been criticized for his changing view on abortion, was also asked where he stood on the issue that is important to voters in this conservative state. I am pro life and I am proud to be pro life, Romney said. The former governor also said he would oppose using federal dollars for abortions and would appoint Supreme Court justices opposed to abortions. He said he opposes using cloning or practices that create human cells for stem cell research.