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NEW YORK, Feb 24: United Nations General Assembly President Jan Eliasson on Thursday unveiled a draft resolution on the creation of a human rights council in a bid to smooth differences between the developed and developing countries.
“While we will build on the positive achievements and best practices of the commission, some of the elements we are considering will make the Human Rights Council a truly new and different body – a fresh start,” Jan Eliasson of Sweden said in introducing the draft. A proposal for setting up the council was adopted at the UN summit in New York in September.
The American ambassador expressed dissatisfaction with the text, saying ‘at first review it does not meet the standards set by the secretary-general himself’, adding ‘we will be examining it closely’.
But he indicated he wanted to reject the text and reopen negotiations rather than have ‘facilitators’ in the assembly fashion a compromise.
However, Mr Eliasson said a major improvement of the proposed council is the requirement that its members, elected individually by the assembly, would be judged on their human rights records with the proviso that they can be suspended if they themselves commit violations.
Mr Eliasson also said that the new council would hold meetings throughout the year and conduct a ‘universal, periodic review’ of all states’ adherence to human rights norms.
AI, HRW PLEA: The Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch on Thursday appealed to governments to approve the draft resolution.
The HRW said although the text presented by the president of the General Assembly falls short of the vision that Secretary-General Kofi Annan set out in his reform report last year, governments should approve the resolution without watering it down.
The UN’s ability to protect human rights will depend on governments’ willingness to make the council a strong and effective body. “The proposed new council is better than the old, discredited Commission on Human Rights, but it is less than we had hoped for,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
“The burden is now on governments to upgrade the council’s membership so it has a better chance of meaningfully protecting human rights.”
Yvonne Turlingen, the Amnesty’s un representative, said in a statement ‘this is a historic opportunity that governments must not squander for selfish political interests. It is time for those that have imposed so many tawdry compromises to allow the General Assembly to establish the Human Rights Council.”
“Still this is only a first step. Governments must now show the political will to make the council an effective human rights body.”
