Israel Matzav

UN 'Human Rights Council' holds special session on... Haiti?

The UN 'Human Rights Council' held a special session Wednesday on Haiti. According to UN Watch's Hillel Neuer, the session is a total waste of time and resources, and the Council should instead donate its cost to the Haitian relief effort.

Today's urgent meeting of the UN Human Rights Council regarding Haiti is "a harmful waste of the organization’s precious time, resources, and moral capital," said a human rights watchdog group.

"Haiti is certainly a dire emergency, but this council, which is supposed to address human rights violations, has no budget, authority or expertise on humanitarian aid, and is clearly the wrong forum," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based monitoring organization.

According to UN estimates, a day of conference and translation services costs up to $200,000. "Instead of being used for today's questionable exercise, that money should have gone to Haiti's needy victims," said Neuer.

“Unlike other UN bodies, the Human Rights Council has neither the power of the purse nor of the sword, only the power to turn a spotlight on the worst abusers," said Neuer. "Tragically, however, the council has refused to hold special sessions to try and stop Iran from massacring student protesters, terrorists from killing civilians in Baghdad and Kabul, or China and Cuba from arresting bloggers, journalists and dissidents. Yet today it convenes -- to do exactly what? Condemn the earth for quaking? It's nonsensical."

I haven't seen the results yet, but I'm willing to bet they find a way to condemn Israel for providing assistance.

The picture at the top of this post is the mural at the 'Human Rights Council's Geneva headquarters. It cost $23 million.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:17 PM