Not that Israel hasn’t already been bus-tossed by Obama…this is just the icing on the cake.
Secret balloting is scheduled Tuesday morning in New York for 18 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council, but the results are already in for all but a handful.
The United States, Belgium and Norway will replace Canada, Germany, and Switzerland, while China, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia will be reappointed to three-year terms on the Geneva-based body.
The elections have come under fire from human rights groups like Human Rights Watch, which along with calling for contested voting has also cited many of the candidate countries for violating their citizens’ human rights.
Former Czech president Vaclav Havel described the exercise as a “farce” in a stinging essay in Sunday’s New York Times.
In its current incarnation, the council has been particularly critical of Israel, holding votes on five resolutions against Israeli policy in a single week in March. Israel’s ambassador in Geneva, Roni Leshno-Yaar, accused countries in the Organization of the Islamic Conference of quashing other issues, including freedom of speech and religious freedom, at Israel’s expense.
The US, which under the Bush administration had boycotted the council, announced in March that it would seek a seat in order to gain a foothold before a comprehensive review scheduled for 2011.
hattip: ZIP
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