Israel Matzav

Nine of top ten US foreign aid recipients voted against condemnation of Iran's human rights record

On Monday, the United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee, which deals with social issues and includes representatives of all 193 UN members, voted 86-32 with 59 abstentions to condemn Iran's human rights record. Of the top ten recipients of US foreign aid, only one voted in favor of the resolution condemning Iran. And I'm sure you can all guess which country that was.

By 86 votes to 32, with 59 abstentions, the committee on Monday approved a text that “expresses deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The text also cites a wide range of violations.

The 32 countries voting against the resolution were Arab, Islamic, communist and autocratic states, along with Tehran’s left-wing Latin American allies, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua (full list below).

Of the ten countries that received the most U.S. foreign aid in fiscal year 2011, only one – Israel – voted for the resolution critical of Iran’s human rights record.

Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two biggest aid recipients in FY2011, voted against the resolution. Six of the other seven biggest beneficiaries of U.S. aid – Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa – abstained.

The remaining country among the top ten U.S. aid recipients, Iraq, did not vote (although Iraq’s representative did take part in other votes during Monday’s session.) The Shi’ite-led government in Baghdad balances its relationship with the United States with close ties to neighboring Iran.

Some of those voting against also displayed some rank hypocrisy.

During Monday’s session, a number of countries tied voting intention to their opposition to country-specific” resolutions at the U.N. – critical resolutions focusing on a single country. They included Kazakhstan, speaking on behalf of the OIC, as well as Cuba, and Malaysia (which abstained).

Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based monitoring group U.N. Watch, accused countries claiming to object to “country-specific” resolutions of double standards.

“These countries are being completely hypocritical because they are the same ones who annually sponsor or support 20 one-sided resolutions against Israel in the U.N. General Assembly, having made a virtual cottage industry of passing ‘country specific’ resolutions against the Jewish state,” he said.

Neuer also singled out Afghanistan for its decision to vote in support of Iran.

“People in many Western countries with troops in Afghanistan may be alarmed to note that, after all the blood and treasure expended there to help that country build a democracy, it continues to vote with Iran in opposing the Western-led effort to denounce the Islamic Republic for ­– in the words of one of the resolution’s sponsors – a ‘continued deterioration’ in Iran’s human rights record,” he said.

The full General Assembly will take up the resolution in December. A similar outcome is expected.

The US needs to rethink its foreign aid package and stop supporting repressive regimes.

Labels: human rights abuses, Iran, United Nations General Assembly, US foreign aid

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:43 PM