UN Human Rights: Good-Bye Commission, Hello Council / IPS Inter Press Service

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Monday, May 21, 2012 13:58 GMT

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POLITICS-COLOMBIA
Negotiations With FARC Cut Short
By Charles Davis
WASHINGTON - Colombian Senator Piedad Córdoba charged at a press conference here Wednesday that the government of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has little interest in negotiating a settlement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist guerrilla group that is said to be holding around 750 people hostage.
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DEVELOPMENT
A Little Aid, A Big Favour
By Sanjay Suri
GLASGOW - When, came the question from a Ugandan delegate at a Civicus world assembly meeting in Glasgow, will the West ever stop giving aid on unequal terms? "We are unequal by the fact that, speaking as a donor, we are providing the funds," said Jan-Petter Holtedahl from the civil society department at the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.
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Q&A
"It's the NGOs Who Provide the Figures, And They Lie"
Interview with Mohammad Ali El Mardi *
GENEVA - A report alleging rights abuses in the western Sudanese region of Darfur has sparked tensions in the United Nations Human Rights Council, currently in session in Geneva, Switzerland.
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RIGHTS
Vanished, But Not Forgotten
By Mithre J. Sandrasagra
UNITED NATIONS - Marking the International Day of the Disappeared, United Nations officials joined international human rights groups Wednesday to draw attention to the plight of the thousands of people around the world who have been seized and imprisoned without recourse to their families or lawyers.
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HUMAN RIGHTS
UN Committee Comes Down Hard on US Government

By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA - In a strongly worded report, the U.N. Human Rights Committee called on the U.S. government to close down any "secret detention" facilities it operates around the world, and expressed concern about a number of issues, both domestic and international.
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RIGHTS
An Empty Stomach? Tell It to the UN!
By Carole Vann and Juan Gasparini*
GENEVA - Citizens may soon be able to complain to the United Nations when their governments are not treating them well - if these administrations have agreed to a host of new economic, social and cultural rights, that is.
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HUMAN RIGHTS
New UN Council Gives Rise to Doubts and Fears

By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA - After its first two weeks of sessions, the United Nations' new Human Rights Council has still not given any indications about how it will respond to the countries with the most flagrant abuses, or what structure it would adopt to prevent and punish rights violations.
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HUMAN RIGHTS
New Council on Best Behaviour for Inauguration Guests

By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA - The United Nations' newly-created Human Rights Council has officially embarked on its daunting task - which includes depoliticising the promotion and protection of fundamental freedoms.
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POLITICS
Iraq's Chairing of U.N. Rights Committee Faulted
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - The 191-member General Assembly is expected to elect Iraq as chair of a key U.N. committee dealing with human rights and social development.
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POLITICS
Rich vs Poor in Power Struggle, Says Top UN Official
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - A new North-South divide between rich and poor nations - over budgetary control and management reforms - may be heading for a political showdown at the United Nations.
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RIGHTS
War Provoking Terror, Amnesty Says
By Sanjay Suri
LONDON - The war on terror is provoking more terror, Amnesty International secretary-general Irene Khan told IPS in an interview Tuesday at the launch of the human rights group's 2005 annual report.
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POLITICS
Africa Asserts its Collective Power at U.N.
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - The 53-member African Group at the United Nations - the second largest regional coalition after the 54-member Asian Group - is asserting its collective unity in a world body that is getting increasingly divided over politically-sensitive issues.
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THAILAND
Aspirant That Failed to Get on UN Rights Body

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - Thailand finds itself out in the cold at the end of a four-cornered race in this region to win a place on a new U.N. body to monitor the world's human rights violations.
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POLITICS
U.N. Defies West in Vote for Human Rights Council

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - The 191-member General Assembly, the collective voice of the international community at the United Nations, brushed aside both U.S. and Western criticisms to elect China, Russia and Cuba to the newly-created Human Rights Council.
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POLITICS
Arab NGOs Weigh in on New U.N. Rights Body

By William Fisher
NEW YORK - On the eve of Tuesday's vote on membership in the new United Nations Human Rights Council, 44 prominent non-governmental organisations from 14 Arab countries are calling for the rejection of Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Algeria.
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Reforms at the United Nations claimed their first victim: the Commission on Human Rights, founded in 1946. The new permanent body -- the Human Rights Council -- is settling in with sessions in June, September and November, laying the groundwork for the future. Will the new Council pick up some of the Commission's more contentious debates? What about member countries notorious for human rights violations? Will Washington continue to face accusations of buying votes from weaker members? Will the delegates take up the matter of abuses against Muslim prisoners at U.S.-run detention centres? And what new human rights issues will the Council have to tackle?