China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia and Saudi Arabia were among 44 states confirmed on the 47-strong council, elected by the UN General Assembly.
The new body replaces the Human Rights Commission, discredited for having members with terrible rights records.
full story at the BBC
Now, I'm not an expert or anything. And in the world of blogging, that fact in and of itself qualifies me to say stuff on just about anything. Does anyone else see even a hint of irony in all of this? I'm just sayin'.
That's like replacing Hitler with Pol Pot. This ought to make the UN a more fun place to be, wouldn't you say?
Posted by: Doug Hoag | May 09, 2006 at 05:21 PM
well, I'm just glad that the BBC added that second line there to clarify why the first UN Human Rights Thingy didn't work out so well...
Posted by: Joseph | May 10, 2006 at 12:33 PM
When the Rwandan genocide was going on, the head of the peace keeping directorate (it appears) did not take seriously the reports made by Romeo Dallaire. Dallaire kept sending in requests for more assistance and for approval to expand his rules of engagement and kept being told to do nothing. That small office was the choke point which could have made a major difference for about 800,000 Rwandans.
Who was the head of the peace keeping office at the time? Once you answer that you'll understand why nothing at the UN is surprising for me. (hint: the deputy was later a Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff, Maurice Baril).
Posted by: Matt | May 10, 2006 at 09:56 PM