After months of arduous negotiations, the UN General Assembly on
Wednesday voted overwhelmingly on a resolution to set up a new
Human Rights Council to replace the much-criticized Human Rights
Commission.
The resolution was adopted by member states with 170 in favor,
four against and three abstentions, among which the United States,
Israel, Marshall Islands, and Palau voted against the resolution,
and Iran, Belarus and Venezuela abstained.
Just before the vote, the assembly's Fifth Committee
(Administrative and Budgetary) decided by consensus that if the
assembly establishes the Human Rights Council, an additional
appropriation of some US$4.3 millions would be required subject to
the procedures governing the use and operation of the contingency
fund.
The US representative explained that although the United States
intended to vote against the resolution in the plenary meeting, it
still intended to work with member states to make the council as
effective as possible.
The adoption of the programmed budget implications statement
facilitated the adoption of the draft resolution by the plenary,
thereby finalizing the establishment of the Human Rights
Council.
In opening remarks to the plenary meeting before the vote,
General Assembly President Jan Eliasson, who led the intensive
contentious negotiations on the issue during the past five months,
called the session a "decisive moment" not only for human rights
but for the standing of the United Nations as a whole.
"Members of the council would be elected by the majority of the
members of the General Assembly, in other words by an absolute
majority," he said. "Each candidate would be voted on individually
and directly and would have to obtain at least ninety-six votes of
support in a secret ballot."
"The General Assembly, by a two-thirds majority of members
present and voting, could suspend the rights of membership of a
council member who commits gross and systematic violations of human
rights," he added.
By the terms of the resolution, the membership in the new
council would be based on equitable geographic distribution, and
the 47 seats shall be distributed among regional groups with 13
from Africa, 13 from Asia, 6 from Eastern Europe, 8 from Latin
America and Caribbean, and 7 from Western Europe and other
countries.
The members of the council will serve for a period of three
years and shall not be eligible for immediate re-election after two
consecutive terms.
The elections of the first members of the council would take
place on May 9, 2006, and that the first meeting of the council
shall be convened on June 19.
Welcoming the vote, which was greeted by prolonged applause, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who first suggested the creation of
the new council in a report to the General Assembly one year ago,
said it gave the organization "a much needed chance to make a new
beginning in its work for human rights around the world."
In a statement released by his spokesman, Annan acknowledged
that this was "only the first step in a process of change."
"Now the real work begins," he declared in the statement. "The
true test of the council's credibility will be the use that member
states make of it."
He also stressed that while the resolution "gives us a solid
foundation, on which all who are truly committed to the cause of
human rights must now build," no country would be wholly satisfied
with every paragraph, although such was "the nature of
international negotiations."
Most countries hailed the establishment of the new UN human
rights body, calling it a significant gain for human rights despite
some obvious deficiencies.
Zhang Yishan, China's deputy permanent representative to the
United Nations, pointed out that the draft resolution has failed to
fully reflect the concerns of many developing countries, including
China, over some issues.
He said the China will further express its concerns during
further consultations after the council is established.
Speaking before the vote, Cuban ambassador Rodrigo Malmierca
criticized the United States for its poor human rights record, but
said despite reservations, Cuba would back the resolution.
"Will it be possible in the new council to approve a resolution
demanding that the United States be held accountable for the
tortures and other serious human rights violations," he asked.
Member states did not reach consensus on the resolution as
highly expected. Venezuelan ambassador Fermin Toro said his country
would abstain because of "serious doubts" about elements of the
text.
The resolution also failed to get support from the United
States, which wanted a smaller body whose members would be elected
by a two-thirds majority, and insisted that the present text has
"deficiencies" and needs to be improved through fresh
negotiations.
In explaining his "no" vote, US Ambassador John Bolton said "we
did not have sufficient confidence in this text to be able to say
the Human Rights Council will be better than its predecessor."
But he promised that the United States will work cooperatively
with other member states to make the council as strong and
effective as it can be.
The Geneva-based Commission on Human Rights has postponed its
annual session, originally slated for Monday, for one week so that
the new human rights body could be established before the session
opens.
Replacing the widely-criticized human rights commission with a
strong council is one of the measures agreed on by world leaders at
their summit in New York last September.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2006)
