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Rep. Smith Calls UN Human Rights Council Broken; Calls on |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Nations Human Rights Council is broken and increased “The UN’s human rights machinery remains broken and in need of serious repair and fundamental reform. Victims of abuse throughout the world deserve better than what the UN Human Rights Council has given them and we have an obligation to correct this injustice. It is critical that the “Since the Council’s creation, there has been no condemnation of the systematic use of torture by the People’s Republic of The UN Human Rights Council was created in March of 2006 in response to the generally-recognized failure of the UN’s previous human rights body, the UN Commission on Human Rights. The new Human Rights Council was given the mandate of promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and addressing violations of human rights – including and especially – gross and systematic violations. However, the Council has failed to exercise its mandate in a fair and equal manner, instead allowing itself to follow the biased and narrow agenda of some of the nations that serve on the Council. The Council initially offered to address one of the leading factors of the previous commission’s downfall, by agreeing to elect members to the body who have proven track record of promoting and protecting human rights. However, in May, the General Assembly proceeded to elect such notorious human rights violators as “The Council could have alleviated some of the skepticism about its ability to promote human rights and address international violations, and do so in a fair and equal manner. However, the election of its members and subsequent activity has only increased cynicism and doubts about their ability to carry out their mandate. We must promote change within the Council to change its course as its current path will render it obsolete, just like its predecessor,” said Smith. | ||
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For Immediate Release: September 6, 2006 Contact: Patrick Creamer (202) 225-3765 |
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