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U.S. Gets a Scolding from U.N. Human Rights Council
For the first time on Friday, the United States subjected itself to some harsh criticisms from friends and foes alike among the 47 nations sitting on the United Nations Human Rights Council. The U.S. took the criticism in stride with a high-level delegation of around 30 officials led by Esther Brimmer, the assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs.
Among the chief critics and first in line at the podium to speak out: Cuba, Iran, Russia, North Korea and Venezuela, whose delegates reportedly camped out overnight to secure their spot behind the podium.
Cuban ambassador Rodolfo Reyes Rodriguez called on the U.S. to end its blockade of the island country, calling it a “crime of genocide.” In addition, it condemned the U.S. for “violations against migrants and mentally ill persons” and called on America to “ensure the right to food and health” for all citizens.
Iran’s delegation demanded the U.S. “halt serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law including covert external operations by the CIA carried out on pretext of combating terrorism.” The Islamic nation — currently poised to stone a woman for alleged adultery charges — told the United States it needed to “combat violence against women.”
North Korea, a dictatorial nation known to starve its own people, told the U.S. “to address inequalities in housing, employment and education” and “prohibit brutality…by law enforcement officials.” The delegation also noted that it was “concerned by systematic widespread violations committed by the United States at home and abroad.”
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The criticism didn‘t only come from America’s foes. Countries like the United Kingdom and France condemned the United States for its allowance of capital punishment. Still, Assistant Secretary Brimmer told the council that “it is an honor to be in this chamber.”
Many of the UNHRC’s accusations, however, seem to accurately reflect a characterization of the council’s activities offered by former American ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton who warned against joining the council. According to Bolton, Friday’s self-inflicted scolding from the international community underscored the Obama administration’s “naivete” toward international diplomacy.
“For the Obama administration, this is an exercise in self flagellation, which they seem to enjoy,” Bolton said. “But it doesn’t prompt equivalent candor from the real rights abusers.”
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In the end it was the German delegation — not the American envoy — who most vocally scolded the critics of the U.S. “We have noted with interest that some of states which are on the first places of today’s speakers list had spared no effort to be the first to speak on the U.S.,” said Germany’s delegate, Konrad Scharinger. “We would hope that those states will show the same level of commitment when it comes to improving their human rights record at home.”
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