UN official calls for HR council

Published July 31, 2005

UNITED NATIONS, July 30: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said on Friday that the creation of a human rights council was critical to advancing the cause, especially in view of the international community’s poor record when it came to implementing its established standards.

“On the implementation side the commission has performed extremely poorly, leading to a perception of using double standards and being very politically driven…I believe that this perception can only be properly addressed by a fundamental change in attitude that can only be triggered by a profound institutional change,” Ms Arbour said.

Speaking to reporters during a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York, Ms Arbour said that she had held discussions during her stay in New York with various stakeholders concerning the launching of human rights council, hopefully at the time of the September summit.

“All the great human rights instruments that we have originated are the work of this commission. In recent years though I think the importance has shifted from this normative mission to a mission of implementing the norms that we have that are very well understood, virtually universally accepted, but extremely poorly implemented,” Ms. Arbour said.

Opinion

Editorial

A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...
GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...