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RECLAIMINGTHE UN GHARTER
White paper on Reforming the United Nations

September 2OOs

ElieWieset addressing SpJcf Se*d;t al thffi Ueneral Assembly commemorate to ure 60"'anniversarytheliberation the Nazi of of concentration camps, January 2oos 24,

Secretary-Genral Kofi Annan presenttng plan for UN reform,,,lnLargerFeedom,

REGLATMINGTHE UN GHARTER
Tha Wttrld Jewish Congress, an umbrella of Jewish comntunities arouncl the worltl, -wa,s amr.tngthefrst non-governmenlQl organizations to.join the calt.for a UnitedNations in the ufterm4ti oJ Worlct -(NGOs) Ilar II, having earlier been lhe frst to worn the worttl o/ Hitler's Final sofution. Il/e now face an unprecedented opportunity to reassess and oyerhaul the United Nations. on March 21, 2005, Kof Annan, secretary-Ganeratofthe unitectNati.ns, unvaired "In Larger unPrecedented proposal for reform of key {JN institutionsanclprocesses.In S-eprember lleelom"'-an 2005, world leaders are converging on the UN's New York heaclquarters iesponclro the to SicreraryGeneral, mark the UN's 60th anniversary,und review implementationoJdevelopmentgoals. Thc WJC agenda identiJiesthrce i.ssues which are indispensableto the LIN'scre4ibility as an institution: Promoting human rights, combdting anti-semitism,antl according equal rights to all tJN member states. Thesc issues are inregral to rhe (JN's purpo.te. As an organizatioi that preierled antr supported the creutiort ttf the United Nations and its hurnan right.t apparatus, the W.IL strongly sulrpiits the SerretaryG_eneral's pushfor anew and elfectiveHuman RightsCouncir to repracethe iirar'ry tncrepnsibte oomnti,ssion Human Rights.Beyond the need.for a smaller mem-bership striirer mlnbership on arul crilerio, we ul'soadvocarehd.\ingthe Council in New york, where the Comrnissiononce enjoyecl lhe profle nnd accottntability required to el\bcti.r,ely hotd nation,t lo accoutlt. wilhout cotnbaringthe specificJbrm oJraci.smwhich guve it petus ro the universal Jight ;forjushce, dnd wilhout accepling as equal the one nalion fountlecllargcly in re.sponse anti-Semili,im,the'UN to and the inlernaliottal communily cannot claim moral authority in callingJbr mutuul respect and hunlan rights. Secrelary-General Annan has cautioned,"A LlnitetlNations thctifaits to be at tie Jbrefront of thef;ght ugainsl anti-Semitismctndotherfornts of racisnt denies its history and wlclerminis iri " fururi. If mentber stalesconnot errenattenpt making the world safer;for ,Iews,they betruy tht t IN (,hert.r, u.hici the Secrctary-(ieneral has 'said "c.tt e os a direcl responseto the horrors of Nazisnt ctnl the llolocau-st.,' The UN ctsa legal entity may not conrrol rha regiott-b.sed "group sy,stem" which contiruteslo discriminate against tlrc Stale o/ Israel, but neithar can the iN ciaih n be all-inclusiva. If the UN needs the independently adminisleredregional group.sto focilitc e consultalirns and ensuregeigrrpip nqury in elections-toUN bodies,goventtnentsshourtrheedthe secretary-Genera|s cutt 7or rictijyiig nn anomaly oflsrael's efective erclusion.front many (/N hodies. This white Paper highlights lhree areas in which the uN must aspire to the principles of irs ow, Charl.er.: serious lrumttn righls mechanisn, conhating anti-Semitism,and-equalmemiership a righrsJbr Israel. lleyond structural adju:jtments, the (/N a,sa communiD) must reform kt meet its own standartl.s. The UN has often been usedlo casligate.lews or the Jewish state, and sonte IIN boclies have been established specifically to detnonizeIsrael. I'husing out.lestructive or obsolete LIN structuresarul practices is impoftant. But u'ithout specificanychanging the (tN's underrying 'operating system, net) impedinents can always arise to replace the old. A,t the recommend(tlion of the WJC Arnericun Scction, the WJC Governing Boartl, meeting in Cortloba, spain, approved a prelintinary platform on.rune 7, 2005.Dr. wiltiam Koiey, a te,ading aitrhority arut scholar on the unied Nation.s and human righr.s, has researched and anaryzett key o.$ect oftie I/N, on focus_ing the proposarfor a new llunun Rightscouncir that wourd repiuce th; de;ptyfla;ed and irredcemahleComntissionon Htnan llitlhts.

REGOMMENDATIONS
Human Rights Gouncil
I leadquarters annual high-level sessionbasedirr New York, r.vhere or UN leadershipand world opinioncan watch and be heard(the Commission HumanRightswas basedin New York, until on politicalfactorsrloved it to the relativeisolationofGeneva); equalto the SecurityCounciland the Economic Status and SocialCouncil; 20-30membcrsmaxirnum; governments To qualifu for mcmbership, mustreaffinntheir commitmentto the Universal Declaration HunranRights,and publishthe rcaffirmation of and full Dcclaration text in major nationalmcdia; Ncw members must be approved hvo{hirds ofthe GeneralAsscnibly; by Any Council membcrs whoschLrman rightsrecordhasnot bcenrecentlyrevicwedshouldbe the fi rst subjectsof any country-by-countryrevielv.

Addressing Anti-Semitism
In 1960,the Commission Human Rights,meetingin New York, adopteda stand-alone on resolution post-Wlr manifestations anti-Senr condemning of itisn and callingon all members sublrit reports to on the status anti-Sentitism governmental of and response thcir rcspective in countrics(over 30 governlnents compliedrvith this request). Nearly a half-ccntury later,unableto actualizc sucha resolution within the GeneralAssemblyor evento repriscit in the Comnrission, UN is not true 1trits principles to its the or draniaticpotential. The January 2005 UN spccialscssion the l-lolocaust on was rlrorcindispensable the LIN than fbr the for Jewishpeople. For the first tinic, thc UnitedNationsformallyrecognizcd centraltragedyofthe 20th the century,the culmination of2,000 yearsofevolving and persistcnt hate.Without cxplicitly and exclusivcly condcrlninganti-Sern itisnr,and rvithoutcallingfor actions combatthis scourge, UN can neverfully lt.l the realizethe goalsandclaimsenshrincd the lJniversal in Deqlaration in the preamble or ofthc Chartcr.

Full Inclusion of lsrael
lsrael'slimited membership a regionalgrouponly for voting purposes, only in New York, ls in and 'fhe unacceptable. Secretary-General openlycallcdfor lsrael'sfull inclusion, has but a rcviell ofthe broadergroupsystemmay also be in order.The entirc'group system'violates fundamental UN principles. Tire regionalgroupings opcrate independently UN ovcrsightand accountability, the UN of yet neveftheless relieson them and its legitimacysuflersas a result. So long as only one country ironically, the statecreated the wakc of tlie samecatastrophe in rvhichspurred UN's own lbunding- doesnot the enjoy equalrights,thc cntirc UN process remains flawed.

Never in the historyofthe UnitedNationshasone of its principalorgansbeen subjected the kind of to scathingcriticisrn' voiced recently by a High-Level Panei of iniernati,cnal statesmJnand forcign affairs specialists, hasthe UN Commjssion HumanRights.lndeed, as on suchharshness extremeifrarein ttre ;s annals moderninternationar of institutions. Rathersuccinctly, panel,sreportdetermined the the commission's"erodingcredibiliq,antrprofessionarism" havegenerated a..iegitimacydeficit,,. The "doubts document concluded that the deficit casts on the overal"l reputation ofthe UnitedNations.,,, The Commission's membership was espccially singledout. Thc Iligh-Level panelfound thar,in recent years,stateshave sougltt membershipon the Comnission 'hot to strengthen human rights but to protect themselves against criticismor to criticizeothers."2 The Commissior.r's reoentrecordh-as hardlyshown,.a demonstrativecommitment to the promotion and protectior]ofhuman rights" the very purposeof its exlstence, spelled as out in the UN charter- but rather"the maintaining in [of doublestandards addressing humanrighlsconcems."Underthesecircumstances, Cornmission ..cannol the be credible.,' Thc indictment u'asstinginganclpowerful. uN secretary-General Kofi Annan madeit crearthat he welcomed High-Levelpanel,spointed the criticisrnof the Commission. the Universal If I)cclaration I{umanRighis "remainson" oitn" of ' Iu1.1 C)rganization's greatestachievements,"he said, "we cannot rloveforwird r.vlttrout resioring the credibiIiryand eftbctiveness ofour humanrightsmechanisms....,

Proposed Solution by High-Level panet
What solution is thereJbr a compromisedmission th(.ttunderminesthe brouder gools sf the {Jnitect "upgrading Nations? The,rIigh-l'evel?aner generuly recommenclecr the co-oiission'i to brro^" u "Hunan RightsCouncil", no lttnger suhservientlo the Econonlic and Socidl Councit (ECOSOO. but an independentbody on pur with ECOSOC and the Security Council l At the samctime, the pancl wanted the proposedbody to reflect "the weiglrt givcn to rrumanrights,,as a central purposeof the trN. Thc Preambleto the UN Charter commits "roicaflrm faith in fundimental lrurnan rights...."5In additionto highlightinghumanrightsas a tJN priorily, the panel recallei:l lbr its that first two decades' mernbers the HumanRightsComnrission the of were "key playersin the humanrights areaand who lradthe professional qualifications experience and ne""..ury ioi hunrunrightswork.,,6 During its earlyyears, Comntission the includedsuchhumanrightsgiantsas EleanorRJosevelt, who was its chairperson; Ren6cassinof France, who r.vould laterwin a liobei pcaceprize; charlesMalik of Lebanon, christian existentialist a philosopher; carlos Romuloofthc philippincs, and *no *"ni on to receivea PulitzerPrize.Othcr stellarrepresentatives camefrom Chile, China,andthe SovietUnion.T The early luminarytypcsno longcroccupyscats Commission at meetings. More distressing, crlrrert membersliip tlle includes Sudan, notorious ongoinggcnocidein Darlirr,and for otherleadinghurnanrights violatorssuchas China,Cuba,SaudiArabia, and Zimbabwe. C "tl"Iol A:l: mbly 'l'heReponoJ'the pancl on Threats, . High-Level Cha enge,s Cha,?8e, December, and 3 ^^Uj 2004, 64.(A/59/565). p.
' IhiA r'7/. ' rhi,| ^ 1
J -

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6at

UN. "Charterofthc United Nations."preanble. 1945.
r n.' xcpofl oJ the I Itytt-t .v.l ptrn(1. p.71.
^

lDio.. D. /4.

an analysis ofthe earlyyearsofthe commission, Mary Ann (irend,on, worrtrMqde New. see A Ereunor Roosevelt the IJniversar and Decrdrotion I lunan Righrs. of Raridom l,rousc, | . Seecspecially, xx-xxi. 200 pp.

', For

ln 2003,the representative ofLibya, an egregious abuser ofhuman rights,was elected the chairman's to scatinitially occupied Mrs. Roosevelt. by rhe vote at the time was 33 to 3 in favor of Libya, the rest abstaining absent. the tinre, Freedom or At lJouscrankedl.ibya amongtlle ten worst hurnan rights ofl'e'ders in the world. " Human Rights watch statedit had "a long record o? human rights abuse.,,e justificationfbr the blistering But tlic High-LevelPanel's critiqucof Commissionmembership hardly is conflnedto the worst offenders. Applying FrcedomHousecriteriato the Commission's membership liit "fiee" - the reveals that only 16 ofthc 53 countrics genuinely are other37 nations(or 70 percent) are either'hot free" or "partly free".'' Given this lopsided politicaland ideological composition, is hardly it surprising that the Commission displays stronglyanti-lsrael a bias.Over the lastfour decades. tess no than 25 percent ofall its rcsolutions criticalofindividual humanrightsviolatorsbavccondemnerl Isracl.rl It alsoexplainswhy suchhumanrightsabuscrs Syria,SaudiArabia,China a1d Zimbabwehavencver as beensubjected a hostileresolution. to Most ofthr: antiJsraelresolutions emerged from a spccialagenda item ofthe Commission, first adopted in 1993- "Questionofthe violalion oflrunranrights in the occupied Arab territories, includilg Palestine." Israelsuffersthe distinctionof beingthe only countryin the world to be annuallyriviewed and censurcd the Commission, by proceeding frorn thc annualrcportofa SpecialRapporteur specifically appointcdfor the purpose. Violationsby othcr countries all grouped are togetlrer underonc agenda itcm. This situatior.r only disadvantages not Israel,but distracts from ongoinganclsevere humanrights violationsaroundthe world and scndsa rnessage humanrightsrvill not bejudgedor appliedwith a that single,objectivcslandard.

Facilitating

Anti-Semitism:

A Recent Example
Rightshus also provided a forunt

Bevond its singling out rtf the Jewish state, tlrc Comnlissionon lIurnn lbr onti- Semilic invecI i,e.

one of thc ugliestincidents UN commissionhistorybeganon March I l, I997, shoftlyaftertScnin SpccialRapporteur IannuHallunenhad introduced repoft.Thc long-scrving I his Palcstinian observer to the commission,Nabil Ramlawi,took the floor. Towardthe endofa speech focusingon Isracl's policy - rvhichhe dcclared be "massextermination" seltlement to ofthe Palcstinians he surJdelry accused Jewishstateof"other genocidal tlte acts",allegingthat "the lsraeli authorities had inf-ested 300 Palestinian childrenwith the HIV virus by injectionduringthe yearsof the lntifada."r2 The incendiary chargerecalled ancientblood libel canardso oftenusedthroughout thc historytojustifu or stir up popular violenceaqainst Jews.

FreedotnHouse..1'-reedom the World 2001 The Annual Sumey tt Potitica! Rightsand Civil Libertie.t. Rowman h and Littlcfield,2004. ' lluman Rights Watch. I-etter to South Ali-ican Prcsident,'l'habo Mbeki by Executive Director of Humar Rights Watch, Kenneth Ro1h.6 August 2002. '" Freedom Housc.o.9. '' Anne Bayefsky. "The UN and the Jews." Commentdry.February2004, p. rt4.; and Anne Bayefsky. .,One Small Step." I/re Wall StreetJournuL 2l June 2004. r2 UN Economicand Socialcouncil. commissionon LIumanRights,53'd scssion. summary recordofthe 3d meeting.I I March 1997,para.37. (E/CN.4/199?/SR.3).

"

'rReclaiming the UN CharterD

World Jewish Gongress, September 2OO5

l'he reaction within the Commission was intriguing.rr Whenthe Israeliobserver, Ambassador Neville Lamdan,calledthe chargca "blatantlie", Ramlarviresponded his sourcewas a story in Israeli that newspapers, assertion an whicli Lamdandeclarcd be inconceivable. u'eeklater,on March 17, to A Lamdansenl a letterto Commission ChairmanMiroslav Somolof the CzecliRepublic,in which he traced the originsofthe "blood libel" and referred the Rarnlawiaccusation a "callousmanirrulation to as ofthis dcspicable libel." His letterwas entered into the records the Commission. of AhhoughCliairrnan Somol initially repudiatcd Ramlawi allegations, delcgation the a pr"uiil"d on Somolto ofArab arnbassado.. apologizc Ramlawifor "any hann this nlay havccaused to you."ra Jttstprior to the Commission's1998session, havinghimselfcriticizedthe 1997events. Secretary-General Kofi Annanwrote to llnited Nationswatch chairmanMorris Abram that "one of mv maior preoccupations Secretary-General 1ospeakout vigorouslyagainst as is anti-Semitism." limay be the first time any UN Secretary-General cornmitted ever himselfso stronglyto the struggleagainst anti-scmitism. ln openingthe ncw session ofthe Commission, ChairmanSomolslatedthat the Commission shouldbe "gu ided. "racist,xenophobic, . .by the words of the Secretary-(ieneral" that allegations and containing anti-Semitic... features must be avoided"as inconsistcnt with the Cornmission's humanrightspurpose. Ramlawi finally acknowledgedthat "Palestinehealth authorities" had informed him that his AiDS virus allegations"were not accurate."No apology was offered and no regretswere tenderedabout the most odiousand heinous fabricatiouin the Commission's history.r5 In a speechin late Maroh l998, the Secretary-Gencral expressed satisfactionwith the statementmade liis finally by Somol at the Commission.[{atepropagalion, said,"deserves he universal condemnation,,' Significantly, calledfor a "broaderfiglit against he anti-Semitism." Noting that 1998markedthc 50rr, anniversaryof the Universal Declaration of I Iuman Riglrts,he expressed view that the occasionmight the appropriatelywarrant the UN reoommendingto member statesthat they combat all such racist manifestations.r6 recommendation not actcdupon at the time, nor in subsequent Thc was ycars.

Gombatinq Anti-Semitism: A Forgotten precedent
Convenlional wisdom may dismiss thc.feasibitityoJ using (/N mechanistns specifcally to combat anti^ Setnilism.It evenoverlooks tlrc inrjlonceswhen UN.frn'ahate providetl a reidy platfirm for anti-semitic vitriol. In an earlier, lesscynical era, lhe (/N activelyfought dnti-Senilism in i wiy thai also 4rove the broader campaign aguinst allJbrms ofracism. Nor only can it be done, it olrearty lias been done. When a worldwideoulburstofanti-Serniticmanifestations occured in late-1959 and early 1960,the 'l-he Commission reacted resolutely. triggeringincidentoccurred Christmas on Eve 1959,in Cologrre, WestGermany. the West Germangovernment As reported the Human RightsCommission, memorial to a "fbr stoneerected the viclims ol'NationalSocialisrn" was vandalized with bLck varnish.Several hours

The details rvcre spelled out in a report sentto the author by Felice Gaer, Director ofthe American Jewish Committee's Jacob Blaustein Institute for the AdvancementofHuman Riglrts. It was entitled, ,,Anti-scmitism at the tIN; Pl,o 'Blood Libel' Accusarionsat the 53'd unitcd Nations commission on Human Rights. A chronology througlr August l, 1997." '[iN lconomic and SocialCouncil.commissionon Human Rights.I-etterfrom the Chaiman of thc Commrssrolr on I IumanRightsto the Palcstinian observer the UN Commission Human Rights.l7 March 1997. for on r E C N . 4 l q q T /1 2 7 , . " Gaer,op cit. ''' LIN PrcssReleasc."Secretary-GeneralSays It is Essentialfor Israel and Her Adversariesto Commit Themselves to Comprehensivc Peace." March 1998.(SG/SM/6504). 25

't

(Reclaiming

the UN Chartertt

World Jewish Gongress, September 2OO5

3

later,that city's rebuiltsynagogue was "besmirched" threeplaccswith swastikas in andan anti-Semitic was followcd in WestGermany,includingWest Berlin, by 470 separate threat.The episode itrcidcnts.r' Thc German government'srcport devoted 54 pagesto this case,to the suspectsapprehendcd and tried, and andthe.iudgments purishrnent rendered. Clcarly,the authorities Bonn took the manifcstations in very seriously. llut the desccrations rvereby no meansconfinedto the FedcralRepublicof Gennany. Arrazingly,a "swastikaepidemic"sweptmuch of the Western world, targetingsytagogues, Jewish communitycenters, Jewishinstitutions. and Over 1,500such incidents took placein numerous countries. RclcvantUN bodiesrcsponded vigorously.On JanuaryI l, 1960,the subsidialyofthe Commission on HumanRights,thc Sub-Commission Prevention Discriniination on of and Protection Minoritics,rnetin of New York and imrnediately took up the issue. The Sub-Commission considered body ofexpertsnot was a representing countries but, in f'act, several ofthcm took ordersfrom their respective governments Thc opcningparagraph the resolution of adoptcdby thc Sub-Conrmission rcvealingof its attitudes: u,as "Deepl)'concerned by the manifestations anti-Semitism of and othcr forms of racialand nationalhatredand religiousprejudices a similarnature, of which havc rcccntlyoccurred in variouscourtries,reminiscent ofthc crimesand outrages comnritted the Nazis prior by " r8 to and duringthc SecondWorld War... . The Sub-Commission thenwent on to condemn"thesemanifcstations violationsofthc principles as embodicdin the Cllrarter the llnited Nationsand iu the UnivcrsalDeclaration HumanRights..." with of of the detcrmination thal "it is the responsibility tlre international of communityto speal( againsf out thcse manifestations." TIle resolution's title registered dctennination thc and commitmcntofthe Sub"Manifestations Anti-Seniitisrn members: Commission of and Other Forrnsof Racialand NationalHatred and ReligiousPrejudice ofa Similar Natute."Stlikingly, Resolution (XVl) madespecilicrelerence 5 to the "crimes"of Nazismbeforeand duringWorld War IL Clearly,it was thc tlolocaustrvhichthe SLrbmembcrshad in mind, but thatterm had uot yet cntcrcdcommonusage. Commission The UN Commission Iluman Rightsnretone monthafterthe Sub-Commission, in New York. The on also "Manifestations (XVl), Commission unanimously adoptedResolution of Anti-Semitism andOther Forms of RacialPre-judice ReligiousIntolerance a SirnilarNature,"on March 16, 1960,fbllowing the and of "deep lines sel down by the Sub-Commission. Commission The rciterated corcern" about"manif'estations 'lnigh1 be onceagain of anti-Semitism" which, it was thought, the forerunner ofother hcinousacts cndangeringthc fnturc." Refcrenceto Nazism rvasdropped;the focus, instead,was the future. The "to calledupon public authorities resolution and privateorganizations make sustained effortsto educate public organizations rvith a vierv to the eradication oftlie racialprejudiceard religiousirtolerance " rcflcctedin suchmanifcstations....The resolution requested Secretary-Gcneral work with the to "obtaiu any infonnationor comments governments NGOs to and relevant suchmanifestations 1() and public leactionto thcln, the mcasurcs takento combatthem,and their causes motivations...." or In responser over 30 governrnents subrnitted reporlsof varyinglength.''
UN Economicand SocialCouncil.Commission llulnan Rights.Sub-Commission Prevention on on of and Protcction Minorities."Manifestatjons Anti-Selnitism Discfimination of of and Other FormsofRacial Preludice ard ReligiousIntolerance ofa SimilarNature 3 January1961,p. 10.(E/CN.4/Sub.2/208/Add.2). ." '' on UN Commission IIuman Rights.Sub-Conrmission Prevention Discrimination on of and Protection of Minorities.pp. 58-59.(E/CN.4/800; and IllCN.4/sub.2/206). Commissiol consistcd two expefts The of flom Africa, tbrec from Asia, two tiom Latin Anerica, four fiom Western Europe,two from Communist countriesofEastern Eurooe.and olrefiom the United States. ''' UN Economicand SocialCouncil.Official Records,30'l' scssiol."Reportto the Economicand SocialCouncilon sixteentl'r session ofthe Commission."Supplcrncnt the Nunber 8.29 February l8 March 1960,pp. 1-24.The submiltcdrcports;Austria,Bclgiurn,Brazil, Bunna, Byelorussian [ollowing govemmcnts SSR,Cambodia, Canada, "Reclaiming the UN Charter" World Jewish Congress, September 2OO5 4 "

At the sametime,the commissionsoughtto connect "swastikaepidemic"with "violationsof the principles embodied the Charterofthe UnitedNationsand in the ljniversal Declaration Ilunran in of "a Riglrts."The 'lnanifestations anti-Semilism" of constiluted threatto the humanrightsand fundamental frecdonls ofall pcoples...."The themeadvanced the Sub-Commission the Commission 1960is by and in equallyrelevant todayand, indeed, numberof Secretary-General a Annan's own statements have reflectedthis approach. By the end of 1960,however,andduringthe sessions ofthe LrN GeneralAssembly,the earlierkey "Manifestations references anti-Semitism to disappeared. a remarkable In feal of wordsmithing, of Anti"Manilestations Sernitism" became of RacialandNationalHatred" thc tille of General Assembly ResolutionI 5 l0 (xv), adopted December12, 1960.' 0 preambular on A paragraph carrieda somewhat lengthier versionofthe originaltitle, alsoreplacing word anli-Semitism the rvith 'lnaniltstationsofracial and nationalhatred, religiousintolerance racialprejudice...."A secondparagraph and suggests odd an kind ofdouble-talk:"Sharingthe graveconcen'] oflhe commissionon l-lumanRightsand the Sub" Commission Prevention Discrimination on of and Protection Minorities aboutthesemanifestations.... of what manifestations? commissionandthe Sub-commission The had beenvery explicit,so this orwellian inversion was nothingbut audacious. operative The paragraph now read:"Resolutely condemns manifestations practices racial,religiousand nationalhatred...,, all and of . wliat happened that the Sovict union had become championof the Third world throughits was a successfitl initiativein winnirtgadoptionby the General Assemblyof a Declaration thc General in Asscrnblycallingfor an end to colonialisnr.rr Moscou,had long opposed any reference anti-senritism, to partly becausc might cvoke Stalin'svirulentanti-Semitic it purges. communist satellite, lts Czechoslovakia, tlie initiativein the GcneralAssembly's took Third Committeewith a draft eliminating the refbrcnce anti-Semitism.22 USSRand Czechoslovakia, to The together witli otherSovietsatellltes calleduponthe GcneralAsscmblyto condemn racism"regardless ofthe form it took.,, Althoughtlie General Assemblyfailedto fbllow their lead,the Conrmission and Sub-Commissiol 1960 in could not bc accused ola "credibilitydeficit" or of maintaining doublestandard hurnanrights. a on

Transferring the Gommission to Geneva: 1g7g-74
Absenlfrom discussions ofwhere to basethe new Human RightsCouncil is thefact that the Comn ssion on Human Rights was originally in New York, and that ils decline coincided with the move to Gerrcvu. 1'heu,ssumption today is that such a body can only be housedin Geneva,and it is mistaken. The physicalmoveof the commission(and its Sub-conirnission) Geneva,Switzerland, to was a landmarkdeveloprnent. Tliis transf'erfunctionally isolaledthc Contmission from the IJN Iieadquaners, and from a segmentoflhe non-governmental community that otherwise could have raisedhuman rights issuesmore direclly and might have strengthened Commission's credibility and eff'ectivepess. the The move alsohelpedisolate commissionfrom the watchfuland attentiveevcsofthe media. the
Ceylon, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador,FederalRepublic ofGcrmany, Fcclcrationof Malaya, Finland, Ghana, I Iaiti, Ireland,lsrael,Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,peru, philippines,polish people's Rcpublic, RepublicofKorca, Spain,Swcdcn, Tunisia,tJnitedArab Republic,United Kingdom ofGreat Britain and Noflherulreland,United Slates Amcrica.(E/CN.4/Sub.2/208). of " UN General Assembly. Official Rccords,15"'Session.3'd Committed. 943'dmeeting.l2 December1960 '' "1'he Dcclaration LN GencralAssembly. on the Crantingoflndependence ColonialCountries to and Pcoples."l4 December 1960.Signiticantly, was adopted it two daysafterthe resolution condenning"Manifestations Racial, of Religiousand NationalHatred." " tJN CeneralAssembly. Official Records, l5tr'Session. Conrmittee. October 1960.(A/C.3/L/848/Rev.2). 3'd 20

"Reclaiming the UN Chartelt'

lrvorld Jewish Gongress, September 2OOS

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Very few major internationalhuman rights NGOs had thcir headquarters oflices in Geneva,and major or international newsmediahad few, ifany, regularcorrespondents postcdthere.With respect public to opinion,tlre diff'erence betwccnNerv York and Gencvawas monumental. New York, thc Commission ln centerstagein the international arenajustas it had duringEleanorRoosevelt's occupied day; in Geneva, it could not failto be marginalized. I hw and why this shift cameabout is shrouded mystifyingtcchnicaldiscussions in aboutrentalcostsand priceof housingand educating the staff andtheir families.The storybeganwith a shortage office space of at IJN Ileadquarters New York. The General in Assembly'sFifth Committee(Adniinistrative and adopted resolution December17,1969,callingupon the Sccrctary-General makea Budgetary) a on to "systematic inquiry" into thc "possibilityand desirability"of moving units out of New York.rt Two years latcr, the Committee requestedthe Secretary-General preparea "comprehensivestudy" of problcms to ' ''crcatcdby thc sllonageofspuce Headq rlers."al ua A document preparedthe following year by the new Secretary-General, Kurl Waldheim, concludcdthat the Division of HrrmanRights, oomprising 70 staff, could be efficienlly transferredfrom New York to " Cenevain 1973. Of course,if the Division was moved,the Cornmission Human Rights- which on on depended the Division's research assistancc would be compelled fbllow. Presumably, and to the Secretary-Gencral rvasto consider whether - f'rom a "functional and operating standpoint"- a unit rnarkedfor transferto Genevacould lvork as "ef'tectivcly" as it had in New Yorl<.Given the Chaftcr's pcacc(or security)and humanrights,this Inoveout of l{eadquaners closelirrkage betrveen would seenr to diminish its efl'ectivencss. The Secrctary-General's positiveview on relocating ofthe HumanRighls Division was echoed thc by Relocation Fi11h Committee. was sche dulcdto takc placc in 1973. l'hat move,however, was interrupted when Waldheimchoseto "deler action" as a resultof new finanoial considerations. hc had originallythoughtthat "s1affcosts"would bc lower in Genevathan in New York If and,thcrcforc,the relocation could resultin "savings",nou,he idenlified"a continuingupwardmovement in the cost of living in Gencva."In addition,"a devaluation ofthe United States dollar in relation the to Swissfianc during 1973"' had radicallyaltered economic piclure--2r' the The ensuingdiscussion the GeneralAsscmblyrvoulddemonstrate the nlovc to Gencva in tliat was politicaland not economic. thc F'ifthCommittec'sscssions hr during auturnn1973,Waldlicimwas subiected strongcriticismfor his decision delay.A listingofthc speakers the atlackprovides to to in someinsightinto the politicalmotivation:Algcria, Bulgaria,CLrba, Democratic Yemen,Egypt,France, Ghana,Iraq,Libya, SaudiArabia,Tunisia,USSR,Upper Volta, and Ycmcn.''

"

tJN GeneralAssembly.5tr'Cornmittcc. Rcsolution 2618 (XXTV). New Construction and Major Altemtions at llnited NationsHcadquaftcrs. December1969. 17 21 LIN GencralAssembly. 5'r'Committee. Resolution 2895 (XXVI). Ileadquarters Accommodation. December 22 "Rentalof ol'licespaceat Headquaders: UN Geleral Assembly. 27rl'scssion. Reportofthe Secrctary-General." 22 Novenrber1972,p.2. (A/C.5/1462). an ironic twist, 15 ycarslaterWaldheimhimself would seryeto undemrinc In tJN credibility when thc World Jcwish Congressuncoveredthat he had, as thc U.S. DepartmentofJustice later concluded,"AsSistedot otherrviseparticipated" in massdepoftations,exccutions, and other Nazi war crimes in Greeceand YLrgoslavia. Since 1987, Waldheim has been legally barred from ever entering the United States. to UN General Assembly. Official Records,28rr'session."Pfoposad ProgrammeBudget for lhc Biennium 1974-1975 and Mediunt-Tern Plan for the Period 1974-1977.Office accommodationsat Ncw York, Ceneva aud other locations, Repoftby the Secrctary-(;cncral." August 1973,p.2. (A/C.5/I 51 I ). 6 '' p. tlN. Ycarbook,1973.Administrative and Budgetcry Questions, 870. .rReclaiming the UN Gharter" Vlrorld Jewish Congress, September 2OO5 6 t5

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'fhe

speakers from Bulgaria,Ghana,SaudiArabiaand thc USSR actuallyacknowlcdged that "the dccision1omovethc Division [on HumanRights]was politicallyratherthan financiallymotivated." Ovcrwhelmingly, exceptfor the inclusion ofFrance,the list demonstrated power ofthe recentalliance the ofthc Sovietbloc vith the Third World countries. especially Arab states. the

The Political Motivation
What was the uchtowledged "political" motivation/ No detailswere offeredpublicly,but it was widely rumoredamonghumanrightsNGOs in New York that tlte SovietUnion stronglyresented Western democracies usir.rg New York-based the Commission raise to issues that provedtluiteembarrassing Moscow.'l'hese for issues includedthe Sovietcrackdown o1 dissidents, a resurrection and ofvitriolic anti-sernitism masquerading anti-Zionisrn. as Airing ofthese mattersby governmentsand NGOs, when repofted in the major New York merlia (7'lrelr'cw York |'ime5, The Naw York Herald l-ribune, and rhe New York Po.st)greatly amplificd the criticism within thc Commission chambcr. While the USSR was a primc advocatefor the trarrsfer,it was apparcntthat thl: Arab statesthought that they would also bcnefit.Their attacks lsrael.especially on whenthey look a harshlybigotedapproach towardthc Jewishstate, rvouldnot be easilyovcrlooked thc New York press.l'be latermediasilence by surrounding PLO observer's the olrtrageous 1997libel slander thc Cornmission at attests Gcneva's to isolation from world opinion. lfthc Sovietinterest a new locationwas patentlyevidenl., in how doesonc explainFrance'sinvolvcment with the initiative? Its inclusion among the mostly Arab and Soviet satellite statesurging the move was anomalous.In thc Fifth committee debate,ihe French spokesman pointed out that "the SecrctaryGcncral'sdecision shouldnot havebecnbased contingencies inflationrate in Geneva on and tlre [thc decliningvalueofthe dollarl which might be ofa tcmporarynature.,,,' Clearly,the rationalc had dramatically shiftodfrom thc initial excuse highercostsin Ne*' York. The prcvailingexplanation the of at time, in the corrtext France's of post-Gaullist culturalnationalism, was that Gelteva was a IJN center whcre the nativclanguage was French,asdistinctfrom the LIN Headquarlers New York wherc English in is dominant. In sharpcontrast the Soviet-French-Arab to position,a group of westcnrr democracies vigorously dcf'ended Sccretary-General's the postponingofthc move, saying thal he "had actedwiscly and had kept "that in rnind what hc considercd be the bestinterests to ofthe [UN] organization."2e They asseftcd the financialconsiderations r.vere wcighty andnot lo be lightly disregarded." The democracies went further,framingtheir casein termsof promotinghumanrightswhich, in arrycase, should have beenat the very heart ofthe argumentand dccision. The representatives Australia, of Denmark, Mauritius, Swedenand the United Statesassefiedthat "a division as imDoftantas the Division of LlumanRightsshouldnot be isolated from otherbodiesat Headquarters with wiriclr its uork was closelyconnected." The Swedishrepresentative especially was vigorous:Thc Division'swork, hc saicl, was very much connectedwith the Office ofthe Secretary-Gencral the Office ofLegal Affairs and, and therefbre, Division "should not be isolatcd"from theseand otherUN bodieswhich havelinks to the humanriqhtswork.ro

tn Ibid. It lbic1. Anrong thesedcmocracieswere Australia, Brazil, canada, colombia, Dcnmark, Japan,Mauritius, the l,hilippincs, Sweden, and the Unitcd States. t" uN GcneralAssembly. official Records, 28tr' session. 5'r'committee.l590rr'meeting. November l9j3,p.1731

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Iiillh Commiltee was not swayedby tlre Westcrn entrcaties. draft resolution introducedby Yemen A "to calledupon the Sccrctary-General expedite transfer the ofthe Division of I IumanRightsto Geneva." The other listedsponsors ofthc rcsolution reflected dorninant the Sovict-Arab axis at the General Asserlbly:Algeria,Sudan,Ukraine,IJSSR,andthe L]nitedArab Emirates. November5, 1973,thc On Fifih Committecapproved resolution, on Deoember thc GcncralAssemblyendorsed the and I8 it 4." Relocatiorfollowed in 197 The perverse climax of Soviet-Arabinfluencc was Novcmber9, 1975,whcn the GcneralAssembly the inlalnousresolution adopted redefining Zionismas a form of racism.ln 1991,with the Sovietcollapsc and a full-blown U.S. diplon.ratic campaign, CeneralAssemblyrcvokedthe resolution. 2004,at a the ln "equating LIN Seminaron anti-Semitism, Kofi Annanwould oharacterizc 1975resolution th-eZionrsm "an "that u,ith racism"as constituting especially unfoftunate decision.""Ile also acknowlcdged the ljnitcd Nations' recordon anti-Semitism at timcs fallen shoftofour idcals." has

Erasing the nGredibility Deficitt'
That the LIN Conlmis,sion Human Righls has outlived its usefulness on and effectiyeness painfully was "Millennium cleor to KoJi Annan. The General Assembly's2000 Declaration" sought a "reaffrmation" "redcdicate offailh in lhe UN Charter oncl to ourselves" to uphold "respectfor human rights and "" tary-( ieneral's reporl, "ln Larger fundamentalJi,eedoms. In tha openingparagraph of the Secre " Freedom: TowardsDctcktpmenl, Sacurity ond Htunan Rights.for,411, Annan wrote: "Fiye years into lhe nev' millennium, we huve it in our power lo pa,s,s to our children a brightcr inlwitunce. ... "'t He stated on "ifwc lhat acl holdly...v,a can nuke people everytvhere errjoytheir fundantantol human rights.' ... Annan borrorved I ligh-I-evelPanel'slanguage the rvhenhe declared this, his major LJNreform in proposal, that the Commission was "increasingly undermined its decliningcredibilityand by "a professionalism." a rcsult,hc addedin rathersharplanguagc, credibilitydeficit hasdevelopcd, As which castsa shadowon the reputation ofthe UnitedNationssysterir a wholc." as Latcr,in a spccchto the IJN Conrmission HumanRightson April 7,2005, the Secretary-General on contended that the Comrnission's own "peer review'' evaluation oflhe humanrightspracticcs LJN of memberstates is distinguished "politicizatiol and selectivity by that are hallmarks the Commission's of existittgsystem."" He also bitterlycriticizedthe way in which some"specificcountryrcsolutions" have 'lhe procedLrre, beenadoptcd. Annan noted,"lias attained unhealthy an dcgrccol politicization." hi his March 2005 "ln Larger Freedorn"repod, the Secretary-General proposedto replacethe 53-membcr Commission with a much srnallerIluman RightsCouncil,as suggested the High-I-evel by Panel.The mcmbcrship thc new Councilwould be elected a two{hirds majorityof thc UN General of by Asscrnbly, enablingthe circlc of dcmocracies exercise to obviouslevcragc and scrutinyin the selection process.

''

fIN. Yearbook,1973.p. 870.Thc Clommittcc adoptcdthe resolutiorby a votc ol'62 to 21, \yith 19 abstentions. Thc GeneralAssemblyvolc was l0 I to 15,with l4 abstentions, additional the votesin favor comingfrom the Third World12 "TlrroughoulHistory Anti-semitism UN PrcssRelease. Unique Manifestation I.latrcd, of Intolerancc, Persecution SaysSecretary-General Remarks Headquarters in to Seminar." June2004.(SO/SM/9375). 2l " "LInitedNationsMillenniumDeclaration." UN GeneralAssembly. l8 September 2000.(A/RES./55/2). 'lowards '" UN General Assembly. "ln Larger Freedom: Devclopment,Security and I Iuman Rights for All: Report ofthe Secretary-General." March 2005.(A/59/2005). 2l " lbid. "Addendum.Human RightsCouncil:Explanatory Note by the Secrctary-Goneral." May 2005. 23 (A/59/2005/Add.). r "Reclaiming the UN Charter" World Jewish Gongress, September 2OO5 I

As for the Councilmembership itself,he rvantcd understood thoseelectedto it "should undenake it thal and abideby the higliesthumanrighls slandards." his April 7 prcsentation the Commission, ln to thc "a Secretary-General addcdthat the nervCounciImust be "morc accounlable" comprise socictyofthe and co[rmitted."The srnaller membershiB would enableit to have"more focuseddebates and discnssions." Undoubtedly, did not envisionarrotlrer he sessjon the UN Commission Human Rights.Louise of on "l Arbour, the tlN High Commissioner HumanRights,told tlrc Associated for Pressin Geneva: certainly hopethat we will no1seea session like this one."" Thc Council'srole rvould be upgradcd. While the currentCornmission chosenby the UN Economrc is and SocialCounciland subordinate it, the new Councilwould bc independent to ofECOSOC, though initially underthe GeneralAsscmbly.As a "standing"body, it rvouldnot bc limited to an annualsix-week session the Commissionis. but would remainin continuous as scssion. proposalincludcda'hew kcy peerreviewfunction"'for the Council,which is 1'heSecretary-Gencral's " "evaluate fulfilhnent" ofall parlicularlynotable. It rvor.rld the the humanrightsobligations ofall UN memberstates. Eachmemberstatewould comeup for reviewon "a periodicbasis."This rotatingproccss would beginwith tlte Council'sown membcrs, unless they had beenrevicwedsoonbefbrejoiningthe Council,therebylLrflher grosshumanrightsabusers deterring from seekingto join the Council. At the sarne the 1ime, Council would not foregodealingexpeditiouslv with "any massivcand gross "to violations"ofhuman rightsthat might occLrr. The new Council is charged bring urgentcrisesto the atlentiono1' rvorldcommunity." the Significantly, rnanyofthe Sccrctary-General's proposals for the kintls ofchangethat evokethe clream call of EleanorRoosevelt and lter colleagues the Comrnission's at inception. Onc final recommendatioLr, horvever, callsfor no changc.tnitially, in his March 2005 document, Annan saidnothingaboutrelocating the Courcil. But two monlhs later,he rvrotethat "the HumanRightsCouncil shouldbc locatedin Geneva allorvingit to work in closccooperalion with the Of'ficeof the UnitedNationsHigh Cornmissioner for IhrmanRights."'"Sincc its crcationin 1993, this otlice hasbecnbasedin Geneva. Tlte Secretary-General's 2005 comments May allowedthe possibilityof "holding specialsessions" in "specific snb-compartments" Nerv Yorlt and cven of having of its staff "based in New York so as to bettcr intclfhcc'" with the prilcipal UN organs. her earlierAssociated In Pressinlervierv, Commissioner Arbour "if only to permit had also suggesled tltis, someinteraction with the olher [LINI Councils, othcr organs thc of the UnitedNations."The ECOSOC,for example, alreadyrotates ceftainof its own sessions between Ncrv York and Genevar. At the debates 1973aboutthe proposed in transfer, virtually all democracies exceptFrancehad contended j that thc cconomic ustifications thc movewere no longervalid. Their conclusion, for vigorously suppoftedat the time by the chairmauofthe Commission,was that the transfer was dictatedby "poliLical" considcrations, thoseofefficiencv or financialsavings. keepingwitli the currentdemands not In ofthe Secretary-General "cnhance"the humanrightsaspects to ofthc [JN, it would be advisable bascthe ne.lv to Council at the New York headquarlers wherethe Commission madeits greatest achicvemcnts.

r6Associated "tIN I lun]an Press Rights Commission WindsUp AnnualSession AmidCriticism, Calls for [Geneval. Retbnn." April 2005. 2| tt LIN Press "secretary-General Release. Major Proposals ReformI IumanRightsMachinery, Acldress Outlines to in (SG/SM/9808). to Geneva Human Rights Commission."April2005. T '" LINDoc.A/59/2005/Add.pp. I -2. l, "Reclaiming the UN Gharter" World Jewish Congress, September 2OO5 9

Positive Response to Kofi Annan
"inJbrmal consultalions" in Genevavtith over 50 As early as .Iune 20, 2005, lhe Comnission held its own including a dozen NGOs. Surprisingly, uccording b lhe oflicial summary of the informal deleg,:rtion,s, "all tliscus,sictn, delegationsagreed lhdl the vork of the Comnission had becomepoliticized and seleclive "'" and, hence,thal reform wus necessary. generally opposed nrakingthe Councila "principalorgan"ofthe I-fN at this time, with many Delegations "a the body of includingthc Asian Groupand the Unitcd States pref'erring Council to be subsidiary "peer Assernbly." The Arab Groupexpressed doubtsand suspicions regarding proposed the the General "no criteria"otherlhan the general "should rcvicrv" system. also insisted It thal criteriaofthe Charter idea apply to membership" the Council.The Secretary-General's for a small and more ilexible Council in by spcakcrs. One delcgation suggested menrbership 65 would be a a of was also challcnged nurnerous "reasonable itsclf a lcaderof the Third World, argued size." India,which hasalwaysconsidered thatthe (53) would seem"to suit everybody." currentsizeofthe Commission The U.S., restating oflicial its position,madeclear"that a small,20-member body would be ideal." By early August2005,the sentiments behalfofthe I'lumanRighls Council had significantly on and after continuous consultations crystallized. preparation the meeting In for ol'tlreGeneralAssernbly, "rcviseddraft the ofthc GcnsralAssernbly sentall UN dclcgations the with nember-states, President 2005 MillcnniLun Sunmit +5 of world leaders. This excerpton the outcomedocument"for the September of Human RightsCouncil reflectsihe csscnce the currcntconscnsus: priority to humanrights in the u,ork o1'1he andkr Pursuant our commitment give greater to to UN we l-luman slrengthcn humanrights machinery the of1heorganization, decideto establish standing a Assembly1obe basedin Geneva, replacement of organof1heGeneral in RightsCouncil,as a subsidiary The General Assemblyshall rcview witliin 5 yearswhetherthe thc Commission }{uman Rights. on Council shouldbe tralsfbnned into a principalorgan.*" 'l'he "shall comprise left between to 50 30 termsfrlr urembership the Councilr.vcrc open: fhe Council on Assemblyby a members, eachservingfbr a periodofthree yearsto be elected direclly by 1heGeneral tlvo-thirdsmajorily." There is, ofcourse.a hugediffcrcncebctwecn30 mcmbcrsand 50, with the high numberremindingone ofthe presenl Cornmission the lower suggesting clearbreakwith tlic past. and a "due thc stipulated that in choosing Council'smembership, the Not surprisingly, draft outcomcdocumcnt " But it alsodirected geographical distribution... . that regardshall be givento thc principlcof cquitable "due regard" be given to "the contribution of memberstatesto the promotion and protection of human is the states rights."The extentto which this will preclude electionof oveftly humanrights abuser "the that ofthe new Council abideby unclear. Notably absentis Kofi Annan's insistence members "a highcsthumanrights standards" that they scrveas socictyofthc committed...." and to highlightcdthc membership The tJ.S.,throughits DeputyAlnbassador the UN, Anne W. Patterson, lbr Patterson, Council's the issueas a primaryconsideration the new Council.Accordingto Ambassador on "clcar objcctivecriteriafor mcmbership."''As an exarnple, she vcry legitimacyand credibilitydepend "shouldnot be considered membership." that were sub.iect UN sanction, to fbr Shealso notedcountries "manageable", membership stressed fbr the Councilto be that its shouldnot exceed30 countries.
t" "Commission Human RightsHolds lnforrnalMeetingon tJN PressRelcase. Commissionon IIuman Rights. or Refom Proposals." June2005.(llR/CN/l I l0). 2l Secretary-General's a0 "Reviied Draft Outcome Documentofthe High-LevelPinel Meetingolthe Ccneral tJN Gineral Assembly. 2005 Submitted the Prcsidcnt b), ofthc Gonc|alAssembly."5 August2005. AsscrnblyofSeptember (A/59/llLPM/CRP.1/Rev.2). "' Statemertby Ambassador Dcputyl i.S. Pcrmanent Representativc thc Unitcd Nations,on to Anne W. Patterson, Unitcd NationsRefbrm.2 August 2005.

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Thc U.S. Institute ofPcace,a Congressionally fundedoperation thatengages foreignpolicy research, in was mandated Congrcss lbrm a special"Task Irorceon the UnitedNations"1ostudyAnnan,s by to proposals."' This panelof promincntcxpefiswas lreaded a formerSpeaker by o1'the Houseof Representatives, Newt Giugrich,and former Senate Majority LeaderGeorgeMitchell. In its report, released July 21, 2005,the'fask Forcelirrmallyurgodthatrhe [J.S."should support creation on the ofa Iluman RightsCouncil."At the sametime, i1advocated the Council ideallybe ,,comprised that of democracics"in order to cffectively promotc and enforce human rigl.rts.

ffGOOD NEIGHBORS": Resuming the Task of Gonfrontinq Anti-Semitism
The UN still has o certain unfinishedbusiness, which the Contmissionon Humdn Rightslaunched in March 1960 when il adopted the historic re.solulionon "Mani|bstdtionsof Anti-semitism and Other Forms ol Rttcial Prejudice und ReligiousIntolerance oJa Sinilar Nature. " The I960 resolution was sadlyalteredby the GencralAssemblyin I)ccember1960andthe word "antiSemilism" simply disappeared from the official UN lexicon. It was restoredby Secretary-General Kofi Annanat the June2004 anti-Scmitism seminar, when he calledattention the outbreak Europeof"an to in alarmingresurgence this phenomenon of in His [anti-Semitism] new fbrntsand manifestations."a:r remarks rvercpromptedby a rnassive numberof anti-Sernitic incidents Europeduringthe preceding in threcycars.They includcddcsecrations, firebombing synagogues Jelvishcornmunity of and institutions, thc widespread beating ofJews, and a significant inclease anti-semitictiradeson the Intcrnetof Renouncing international the community'slaok ofresponse the Nazi barbarities tlic 1930s, to of Annan "this tiIne,the declared that world must not, carnot be silcnt."The Secrctary-General eloqucntlydeolared that "the fight againstanti-Scnrilism must be our fight, and Jewsevcrl,vhere must fccl that the United Nationsis their home,too." He rccalled that the Bcrlin Declaration Anti-senritism. on adooted two m o n l l r s r r l i c r b y t h e 5 5 - m c r n b e r r g a n i z a r i ofn r S c c u r i i la r r d o o p e r a r i oin t u r o p c ( O S C F ) . c O o C n "condemned without reservc manifestations anti-Semitisrn" all olher actsof ir.rtolerance, all of and inciterrent, harassment, violcnceagainst or persons communities or based ethnicorigin or religious on beliefwhcrcverthey occur. Secretary-Gencral offereda concrcte proposal the mcmberstates to ofthc UN. They "oould follow "hope" thatthe Berlin principles the exccllentleadofthc Berlin Declaration," with the would be adopted by "broadcrmembership the UnitedNations."The World JewishCongress of stronglyendorses the Secretary-General's views and urgesthe General Assemblyto adopta declaralion against all manifestations anti-Semitism, of rvhichlvasregrcttably interuptedexactly45 yearsago. Suchactior.r would dovetailwith the mostrecentstatemcnt ofPope BenedictXVI on August 18, 2005, while visiting a synagogue Cologncwhich had beendcstroyed tlie Nazisand rebuiltafterthe war: in by "Today, sadly,wc are witnessing rise of new signsof anti-semitism the and variousforms of general "a hostilitytowardforeigners."oo Pontif'fcalled developments reason concemandvigilance." The the for Significantly, Colognesynagogue the which he visitedwas precisely one desecratcd December the on 25, 1959,lvltich hadtriggered "srvastiha thc epidcmic"of 1960and u4richprornpted significant the actionof the UN Cornmission Human Riqhts. on 'l'hs

42 PublicLaw 108-447, tt "'lhror.rghout UN P.essRelease. History."(SG/SM/9375). '" lan Fishcr."Pope Visits GcrnranSynagogue Warnsof Growing Anti-Semitism."TheNew York'l'imes.20 and August2005.

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delailed2004 discussion anti-Semitism, repeatedly he recalled horrorsof the In the Secretary-General's of tlolocaustand its impactupon the UN itself.I Ie rendered po'rverful movingj udgment the and the that the from "the ashes ofthe Ilolocaust." UnitedNationshad emerged On January 24,2005, the Secretary-General's lvordson the Holocaust rvcrematched actionas the UN by GeneralAssemblyconvenedits first-everSpecialSession address commemorate Holocaust.a5 to and the was the 60rhanniversary ofNazi concentration The specificoccasion olthc liberation camps.Dozensof the delegations, someheaded foreign ministers, by attended day-longsuccession speeches, of including statements GeneralAssemblyPresident.lean Ping, Secretary-Gcneral important by Annan,andtlre foreignministersoflsrael, Germany,and Luxcmbourg(as President ofthe European Union). The tact potentialrcsistance that it took delicate negotiations dissuadc to from somedelegations only underscores the commitment by General Assembly PresidentPing, Secretary-General Annan and many governments to ensurethat the UN take responsibility as an institution representing weight of global history and the universalaspirations. Following the SpecialSession, singingof Israel'snationalanthem the and recitation ofthe Jewishprayerfor the deadunderscored departure this from 'business usual'. as In his spcech the SpecialSession, Secretary-General to the warned:"The UnitedNationsmustnever forget that it was createdas a responseto the evil ofNazism, or that the horror ofthe Holocausthelpedto 'lhat rcsponsc is ensl.rrined our Charter,and in the Universal DeclarationofHuman in shapeits lr.rission. Rights."." Equally moving was a speech deliveredin Jerusalem March 2005,duringthe he in rededication thc famousYad VashemHolocaust of muscum:"Our [JN] Charter, Universal the - indeed, of HumanRights,the Genocide Declaration Convenlion much of the UN's missionitselfcameas a dircct rcsponse the horrorsof Nazismand the l-lolocaust."rT comments to His reflected rare a 'fhat sensitivity and insightto the terribly tragicevents ofover a halfcenturyago. Annanhad littlc patience the I Iolocaust-den is clear:"We mustcounter for iers thosewho sprcadlies and stereotypes." "A Upon visiting Yad Vashem,Annan declared: Unitcd Nationsthat fails to be at the forefrontofthe fight againstanti-Semitismand other forms of racism dcnies its hislory and underminesits future." He also tied tlie fate ofthe UN to thal of r.vorldJewry and to the statethat represents vital segmentofthe a "links us to the peopleandto Jewishpeople- Israel.l'he "obligation"to conrbat anti-Semitism Jewislr thc StateofIsIael rvhichrosc,likc thc UnitcdNationsitselffrom the ashes ofthe Holocaust."

ffTHE EQUAL RIGHTS OF... NATIONS LARGE AND SMALL'
The UN Charter is our frame of referencees v,e holhwelcome and crilique thc Secretary-General's exlraordinarily signiJicant proposttl Jbr reforming the United Nations. The Charler states unequivocally: ''n "The Organiztttion is basedon the principle of'lhe sovereignequality of Llll ir.\Mcmher,s. it For too long a pcriod,one state- Israel was deprivedofthat equalilybecause alonewas excluded fiom regional groups which, during the last severaldecades, have constitutedthe mechanismfor membershipselcctionto cvcry r.najorUN organ besidesthc full GeneralAssembly. Until now, Israel has groupto which it would belong the Asian Group.After a long not beenadmittedto the geographical the Jcu,ishstatewas finally admitted in 2000 to the Western Europeanand OthersGroup (WEOG), delay,
" The Special Sessionwas authorized by a Lfl..iCeneral Assembly resolution adopted22 November 2004. (A/RES/59/26).F'ora summaryofall the speeches, UN GcneralAssemblyPressRelease sec GA/10330. "" UN PressRelease."'Such an Evil Must Never Be Allowed to HappenAgain', Secretary-General Tells General AssemblySession Commemorating LiberationofNazi DeathCamps."24 January 2005. (SG/SM/9686). u'UN PressRelcasc. "Much oftJN MissionDircct Response liorors ofNazism, Holocaust 10 SaysSecretaryGeneralin Remarks Jerusalem at Dinner." l6 March 2005.(SG/SM/8763). oo"Charter ofthe United Nations."Chaptert. Article 2.

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the UN Ghartef'

World Jewish Congress, September 2OO5 l2

which also includes Canada, Australia,New Zealand, andthe UnitedStates. But that openingonl1, applies and to the WEOG at tJN Headquarters not at otherLIN centers like Vienna,Geneva, andNairobi. Its limited WEOG statr:s doesplaceIsraelin line fbr eventual membership the UN SccurityCouncil in andthe Commission Human Rights,for which elections held in New York. Sincclsraelis adnritted on are only in New York, and only for purposes ofelectionsoccurring mostly in New York and not for policy consultations any UN ccntcr the Je\.vish in stateretainsits uniquesecord-class status amongthc othcr 190UN memberstates. 'fhe Secretary-General addressed issuepublicly while in Israelto commemorate Holocaust. this the First, he expressed appreciation his that "at long-last" lsracl hadbecome rnember WEOG. But ther,, a of rcgrcttingits continued exclusionfrom the sameregionalgroupin otherUN ccntcrs, addcd,"l will do he wlratever can to encourage" I Israel'smembership thosecenters. strongconcluding at In rcmarks, hc "We needto correctthe long-standing declared: anomalythat kept Israclfiom parricipating f'ully and equallyin the work of the [tIN] organizatior." Over the lastfew decades, Commissiorhasdeveloped "crcdibility deficit" olrserious proporlions. the a proposal erasethis deficitwidr his proposal We welcomeSecretary-General Annan'sconstructive Kofl to for a l{uman RightsCouncil designed deepen to andextendthc humanrights vision of the UN Charter andthe UniversalDeclaration HurnanRights.We alsovery much rvclcomcthc Secretary-General's of initiatives address Holocaustlessons to thc which inlbrmedthe UN's very founding,includinggenuine actions rejectcontenlporaD/ to anti-Sernitism, to cnsurc and that all counlries treated are firirly r.vithin the membershio structure.

About the Author
Dr. Williatn Kore.yis u human righls ,scholararul activist who hasplayed a key role in someo/ the major humcmrights struggles ofthe past halJ-ccntury. IIe has taught and lectured uround the world, and servadin senior posilions wilh lhe Anli-Defumation Leagueand B'nai B'rith hternational. His many honors include grants from the Ford Foundation, Woodrow Wil.sonInternational Center for Scholars, U.S.Institute ofPeace, and the Carnegie Corporation. Among Dr. Korey's major boolrs are The Promises Keep: Human Rights,the l-lelsinki We Process and AmericanForeignPolicy,' NGOs andthe UniversalDeclaration ofHuman Rights:A CuriousGrapevine; andThe SovielCage: Anli-Semitism Russia. in I;[/JCIntern Dttna Rm'it,, Wesleyan University '0(t, provided superh research and editing support.

'rReclaiming the UN Chartertt

World Jewish Congress, September 2OO5

13

IJnitedNations Economic and Social Council Thirticth Session (xvr). MANTFESTATTONS ANTI-SEMTTISM AND OTHER FOITMSOF IIACTAL OF PITEJUDICEAND RDLIGIOUS INTOLEILANCD OF A SIMILAII. NATURE
The Commissionon Huntan Rights, Notfugwith deepconcernthe manifestations a'ti-Semitis* and otherforms ofracial preiudice of and religiousintolerancc ofa similar naturewhich lraverecently occurredin varirrns s6nn11iss inJwhich might be onceagainthe fbrerunner otherheinousactscndangering future, of the Expressingits gralification that Governments,peoplesand private organizationshave spoutaltcously reactedin oppositionto thesc manifestations, Taking into accourl the recommendations thc subjectby the Sutr-Commissionon Prcvention01 on Discrimination Protection Minorities(B/cN.4/800,para.194,resolurion B (xlD), and of 3 | - Condemns thesemanifeslations violationsof plinciplesernbodied the Chafterofthc United as in Nationsand in thc UniversalDeclaration ofHuman Rights,and in pafticularas a violationofthe human rightsofthe groupsagainstrvhichthey are dirccted, altd as a thrcatto the humanrishts and fundarnental f r c e d o r no f a l l p e o p l c r : s 2. UrgesStates Membersofthe UnitedNationsand members ofthe specializcd agencics takeall to appropriate actionto preventeffectivelysuchactsand to punishtlremwhcre tlrcy lrayebccncomrnitted; 3. Calls uponpublic authorities and privateorganizations make sustaincd to effortsto educate nublic opinitllrlvith a view to the cradication ofthc racialprcjudiceand religiousintolerancc reflectcdin suclr rnanifbstations the clitninationofall undesirable and influences promotingsuchprejudicc, andto take approprlate measurcs that educatioll so may be directedr.vith due regardto arlicle26 ofthe Universar Declat'atiorr Human Rightsand principlc l0 of thc Declaration the Rightsof the Chilcladoptcd of of by thc General Assemblyin resolntiolrl3ti6 (XlV); 4. Requesls Secretary-General itrrange,in consr:ltationr.viththe Goverlments of States Ihe to Mcmbersof the UnitedNationsand members the spccialized of agencies whoseteritory suclr in manit'estations have occurrcd, the United Nations Educational,Scicntific and Cultural Organization,ancl non-govcrnmental organizations consultative in status, obtainany informationor comments to relevanr ro suchmanifbstations public reaotioll them,the measures and to takento combatthem.and their causes or rnotivations; 5. Requesls Sccretary-General transmitall the aboveinfbrmationand comments, lhe to froln trmeto 1ime,as received, the members the Sub-Commission Prevcntion to of on ol'Discrimination and protection of Minorities: 6. Requests Sub-Comrnission Prcvention Discrimilation and Protection Minorities,at rrs the on of of next sessiou, cvaluate materials to the received response the aboverequests. draw such in to to conclusions therefronl sceftlto bc justified,to rcconrmend as suchactionas seems bc desirable, to to and rcportthercon thc.Commission HumanRights. to on Adopted unanimously ut the 66Jtt'mttting, rm I6 Murch I960.

The World Jewish Conqress Govelninq Board RESOLUTION ()1{ REFORMINGTHE UNITED NATIONS AND COMBATING ANTI.SEMITISM Whereasthc Cha(er of the lJnited Nations (lJN) realfirms (a) "faith in fundamentalhuman rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person,in the equal rights of mcn and women and of nations largc and small (b) "to praclice toleranceand live togetherin peacewith one anotheras good neighbors,,, and Whereasthe IJN SecretaryGeneralhas emphasized that the UN and thc Stateoflsrael were both founded upon the ashesof the Holocaust;and whcreas the united Nations sccretariat in June 2004 sponsored forum on antisemitism, and a the I TN. GencralAssemblyconvened historicSpecialSession January2005 commemorating a in the60"'anniversary the liberation of ol'Auschuitz; alrd Whereasthe World .IewishCongress(WJC) American Scction in May 2005 sponsored a planninglbrum on anli-Scmitism whereseniordiplomatsand communitylcaders shared priorities1brcombatinganti-Semitism, the AmericanSectionadopted resolulion and a calling on the WJC Governing Board to implcment speciljc strategies regarding the UN; and Whcrcasthe SecretaryGencral has submilted a dranratioproposal for reforming thc LIN, ..ln Larger Freedom:Towards Development,Securily and Human Rights for All,,,to be considered by headsof stateat the septembcr 2005 summit in New York, including a call lbr replacingthe deeply flawcd commission on Human Rights with a new and smaller Human Rights councit; and Whcreasin Geneva,far lrom public scrutiny, the nations with the very worst human rights recordshave been allowed to serveon the Human Rights commission while flouting the basic principlcs of the Dcclaration of Human Rights, using their membershipto block resolutions critjcizing them ar.rd fellow violators; and Whcreasthe Stateof Israel rcmains the target of multiple condemnationsadoptedannually by the LN GeneralAssembly and the commission on Human Rights, along with LN-funded entitics devotedto questioningthe legitimacy of thc Je$'ishstate;and whereas thc SecretaryGeneral and the uN High commissioner for Human Rights have noted thc destructivebias of the Commission on Human Rights; and whcreas llurope and other regions oI'thc world have expcrienceda pandemicupsurgein antisemitic rheloricand violencc,in many cascs tieled by political and government leadcrship and oftcn in the guiseofquestioningIsrael'slegitimacy;and

whercasthe wJC haspronroted goal of a stand-alone resolutionto condemn the UN antiSemitismand call upon all nationsto contbatits manifcstations: and Whereasa growing ttumber of world leadershavc publicly supportedadoption of a stand-alone resolulion, and memberstates ofinlernationalbodiessuchas thc Organizilion ior Sccurilyancl cooperation in l]urope (oscL) and thc EuropeanUnion (EU) have alreaclycommitted to specilicsteps counteranti-Scmitism prcventanti-semiticviolenceand cliscrimination; 10 and and Whercasthe Stateof Israol is the only UN member staleconfincd to lirnite6 membershiD a rn rcgionalgroup,thc basicchannelfor nalionsto participate delibcrations rotareonto in and membership suchkcy bodicsas tlie tIN SccurilyCouncilanclCornmission Irluman on on Rishts:
and

Therefore,the WJC Governing Board: l. Instructsthe WJC and urgesaffiliatcs to increase outreaohto those govcrnmentsthat have alreadyexpressed their support for coordinatedaction againstanti-semitism to remind nalionso1'1he needfor the UN to cstablish credibilityon the issueofcontemporary antiSemitism. just condemnatitrns pasthorrr.rrs: not of alrcl

2. Bncourages input from all regional and national affiliates, anclfrom partner agencrcs, lp advanceof the septemberuN summit and 601h Ge'eral Asscmbly session.relarding specificrccommcndations maximizingthr:opporlunitics ftrr oIthe secrctaryGc'eral's unprecedcnled call lbr IIN rcfonn; and 3. Inst^rcts world Jewishcongrcssto developa se1 results-oricnted the of recommendations reshaping lundamentallyflawed IJN human rights machinery. for the including proposedoriteria for membershipin any new body; ancl '{. Specilioally calls for any reshaped ll-rman Itights Commission or ncw I{u1.ra1Rights Counoilto bc based New York Ciity,cxposed thc spollighlofinternationaliledia in to coverage, and to restrict membcrshipto thosestateswhosc govcrnmelts reaflirm their commilmentto the UniversalDeclaration IIuman Rights,publishthe Declaration of and reaffirmation in all domcstic clcctronic and print media, and pcrmit-intcrnational observers verify this processprior to accession. to

Adopted by the world Jeu-ishCongressGoverning []oard, June 7, 2005,at Corclobcr, Spain.

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\NN

woRLD JEwtsH GoNGREss

\ \lN), \ American Section
'a--\-i' 'lllirtr$.6

Chairman Evelyn Sommer

Executive Director Shai Franklin

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