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PERMANENT MISSION ISRAEL THEUNITED TO OF NATIONS

Statement by:

Ambassador Gillerman Dan Permanent Representative

Explanation Voteon the Resolution the of on Human Rights Council

Sixtieth Session the General of Assembly March15,2006

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On behalf of the Governmentof the Stateof Israel, I would like to expressmy sincere appreciationto the Presidentof the GeneralAssembly, H.E. AmbassadorJan Eliassonfor his efforts and stewardshipin conductingthesevery sensitiveand complicateddeliberationson the establishment an effective Human Rights Council. I would also like to commend of Ambassadors Kumalo and Arias for their valuable contribution to this effort. Half a century after the Commission on Human Rights was established,the SecretaryGeneral courageouslyinitiated a painful yet necessary processto substantivelyreform the UN systemand addressthe existing failings in the Commission on Human Rights. His report and unequivocal recommendations provided a clear framework for understandingthe major challengesand acute problems facing this body today. Foremost among these is the "declining credibility" and the "legitimacy deficit" of the Commission,which is keenly felt in my country, and which has sadly becomecharacteristicof this body in the eyes of the public at large. Borne out of the ruins and the ashesof the Second World War, the United Nations, with the Commission on Human Rights at its forefront, was intendedto serveas a beaconof resolve and hope, to restorehumanity to mankind and safeguardthe promise of "Never again". The preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledgesits foundation in the "barbarous actswhich have outragedthe conscience mankind..". of The Jewish Peoplehave a fundamentalinterestin the fIN's promise of protection of human rights and freedoms.For three thousandyears the Jewish Bible has taught us : "thou shall not.. favour the personof the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour;" "The strangerthat sojournethwith you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself;" The Universal Declaration of Human Rights conveys similar thoughts: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscienceand should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood". "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth.. without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion,political or other opinion, nationalor social origin, property,birth or other status". Among its founding fathers and keenestadvocatesback in 1946, before the State of Israel was established,were prominent Jewish leadersand Nobel prize winners such as Rene Cassin who helpedbuild an edifice of valuesand morals.The IIN vision was our vision. Theseare principles that the nation of Israel holds dear. It is thereforewith profound regret that we have borne witness to the corruption of those ideals in the LIN's central human rights agency, the Commission on Human Rights, over many decades. Instead of equality, we got discrimination. Instead of tolerance, we experiencedracism and exclusion. Instead of human dignity, we suffered the indignity of double standards applied only to the Jewish State. Therefore, Israel has been closely involved in the negotiations in order to create a viable, professional and responsible Human Rights Council, which would renew public confidencein it and regain legitimacy and credibility.

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Unfortunately, the resolution falls significantly short of the objectives that will enable the Council to live up to those ideals. This resolution contains worrying omissions, including the absenceof suffrcient benchmarksfor membership,which posesthe dangerthat the new Council would not be a significant improvementover its predecessor. Israel believes that the General Assembly should not allow those responsiblefor the failure of the Commission on Human Rights to lead the Council down the same road. Indeed, radical failure calls for radical change. This change,unfortunately,is not evident today. Israel, along with others,had hoped to avoid voting on this resolution, which should ideally be adopted by consensus. However, * this juncture in time, this resolution fails to addressseveral fundamental issuesof concem, as expressedin the letters circulated by various delegations,and the explanationsvoiced heretoday. Consequently,Israel was compelledto vote againstit. As I conclude, with your permission Mr. President,I would like to add a personalnote. I feel I would be remiss if I did not expressto you my admiration for the effort, energy, and passionyou have investedin the effort to assurethe establishment a credible and viable new Council. You of have done so with impeccableintegrity and remarkablehonesty. We are only sorry that the end result fell short of enablingus to vote in favor of the final outcome. Thank you Mr. President.