United States regains its seat on U.N. Human Rights Commission

UNITED NATIONS -- A year after the humiliating loss of a seat it held for over 50 years, the United States won election Monday to the U.N. Human Rights Commission -- but so did Zimbabwe, Ukraine and China, which have poor human rights records.

The 54-member U.N. Economic and Social Council approved an uncontested slate of candidates from Western nations that included the United States. As a result, the United States will be back on the commission for three years starting on Jan. 1.

The U.S. ouster -- after it had been on the commission since it was established in 1947 -- exacerbated U.S.-U.N. relations, caused an outcry in Washington, and led to intensive behind-the-scenes lobbying by the Bush administration to get back on the Geneva-based panel.

But Human Rights Watch said Monday's election of 15 new members will add to the crisis evident at the commission's recent annual meeting where members failed to criticize rights abuses in many countries.

'Major worry'

"The number of governments on the commission with poor human rights records has increased, and this is the major worry," said Joanna Weschler, U.N. representative for Human Rights Watch. "Abusive governments are fighting to prevent the commission from monitoring and criticizing the abusers."

Weschler said the crisis will likely deepen, especially with the election of Zimbabwe. China was also re-elected, and Ukraine, which has human rights problems, defeated Hungary by a slim margin of 28 to 26 votes.

There is now "a pretty powerful bloc" of countries that abuse human rights and that operate as a bloc, she said, citing Algeria, Bahrain, Congo, Libya, Sudan, Russia, Syria, Togo, Uganda and Vietnam.

Welcoming the U.S. return to the U.N.'s top human rights body, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher complained that the commission "failed to address gross violations of human rights in China, Chechnya, Iran and Zimbabwe."

"Experience has shown that the commission stands up for human rights most successfully when the United States is a full voting member," he said.

But Weschler said if the United States were a member during the six-week session that ended Friday, "not a single vote would have had a different outcome."

"Unless the United States decides to fight actively to restore the commission's core functions of investigating, publicizing and criticizing human rights violations, its return as a member will not have an impact on this crisis," she warned.

At the recent meeting in Geneva, the commission failed even to discuss reported repression in China. It dropped its criticism of Russian abuses in Chechnya. It voted the end a long-running investigation into Iran and blocked moves to examine alleged abuses in Zimbabwe.

Resolution withdrawn

To the outrage of human rights groups, a Mexican-sponsored resolution calling for anti-terrorist measures to conform with international humanitarian law was withdrawn in the meeting's closing hours. The United States -- criticized for its treatment of al-Qaida suspects at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and its detention without trial of Mideast nationals who have violated visa regulations -- lobbied against the resolution.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson called the meeting "very worrying," saying she was concerned about trends to weaken the commission's role as a defender of liberties.

The commission did pass a resolution calling on Cuba to grant its citizens individual liberties, an act which Boucher welcomed, praising Latin American countries for sponsoring it.