So here’s how the UPR rubber hit the road of crimes against humanity in Syria. On October 7, 2011, the Syrian vice-minister of foreign affairs and his entourage took their places in the Council chamber. And then the Cubans said: “the Syrian government is working for the human rights of its people.” The North Koreans said: “we commend Syria on its efforts taken to maintain security and stability.” The Iranians said: “we appreciate the efforts of the government of Syria to promote and protect human rights.” Ditto Sudan, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Algeria, Lebanon, China, Zimbabwe, Burma/Myanmar, and so on.Four days later, on behalf of the three countries charged with compiling recommendations, Mexico reported to the Council: “Syria received a total of 179 recommendations…It is a pleasure to inform you that 98 recommendations were accepted and 26 shall be considered.” Among the recommendations that "did not enjoy the support" of Syria were “immediately end attacks on peaceful protesters and bring violators to account,” “put an end to secret detentions” and “allow journalists to freely exercise their profession.” At the end of this stage of the UPR, the President of the Council turned to Syria and signed off with “I thank both you and your delegation for your participation in the UPR.”At the time, there were 2,600 dead Syrian citizens at the hands of their own government. And Assad got the message about the human rights bona fides of the UN.The next and final stage of the UPR took place in Geneva on March 15, 2012 – by which time there were 11,000 dead. On that occasion, the Council formally adopted the so-called “outcome” of the UPR – a report containing no findings and no decision to take action. It was gaveled through without comment from the President with these words: “May I now propose that the Council adopts the decision on the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review of Syria?” I see no objection.”There are now over 60,000 dead in Syria.And yet, incredibly, the enormous pressure now descending on Israel to play by these rules has been mounted for the sake of the credibility of the UPR. It is the Jewish state that poses the threat to the UN’s house of cards.This is what modern anti-Semitism in the world of international affairs is really all about. Israel’s willingness to expose the lack of universal application of standards, its refusal to play with a stacked deck, its stubborn insistence that it will not go quietly into that good night, is itself an affront – a violation of the rules of a club from which Jews have been excluded throughout history.The discrimination against Israel by the UN human rights system is not hard to find. The UN Human Rights Council has a permanent agenda of 10 items, one reserved for condemning Israel and one for considering all other 192 UN members. Almost 40 percent of all Council resolutions condemning specific countries have been directed at Israel alone. There have been more special sessions on Israel than any other country. Israel is the only UN state excluded from full membership in any of the UN’s regional groups, where key negotiations and information-sharing occurs.The official UN document entitled “summary of stakeholder submissions,” which is intended to drive Israel’s UPR, includes allegations from NGOs that object to “the Jewish character of the state,” and demand that “five million Palestinians” should “return” to Israel to seal the deal....
Read the whole thing.If President Obama and his new administration were really serious about leadership, they could have easily been telling their colleagues on the Council to change the rules, because true equality cannot be built on the inequality of the few. Because the discrimination and demonization of the Jewish state and the Jewish people is not an isolatable flaw, but subverts the very foundation of human rights and the United Nations. Because the road to hell is paved with the cries of the insignificant, the marginal and the irrelevant.But instead, through their UN Ambassador in Geneva, Eileen Donahoe, American diplomats publicly beseeched Israel last week to make nice.
I'm proud to be an Israeli today. Really proud.
The question you have to ask yourself is why does anyone care? Pushing aside for a moment the reality that the UN is the most antisemitic body on the globe, it accomplishes nothing for anyone. It elects mass murderers to oversea human rights. It has conferences with leaders of rape armies about domestic violence. Its own 'troops' are often caught up in mass rapes, child abuse and terrorism. It's staffers are frequently arrested and indicted for corruption and theft and it's spokespersons are self admitted clinical paranoids.
ReplyDeleteYou could take every dollar every shekel every pound pile it up in mound and set fire to it it would do as much good. You could toss every UN staffer in the ocean and no one would ever notice for all the effect it would have on 'world affairs'.
So the question you have to pose is why anyone cares? I think the simple answer is that western governments are exhausted and lazy and don't want to 'do' anything anymore. Punt it over the world to this 'world body' who will sort it out or something or not. What's becoming apparent is that the UN is a dysfunctional corrupt organization owned and operated by Nazis and tyrants, because it is. It's that all of these problems and conflicts are by their very nature insoluble at all by anyone or any group. People are savages and they make countries of savages doing savage things. Talking nice and offering to give them a few oxen is pointless. Telling them about the rule of law is silly. Wishing they evolve out of the Bronze Age is dangerous. So let them squawk and make the appropriate zoo animal sounds about the evil Jews they love to hate. Let them shake their fists at Allah while they squat around the camel dung fire. Let them dress up in silk suits while discussing how old a child you rape should be before you call it marriage. It's savagery. It's toxic evil corruption at its core. It's Sodom and Gomorrah and the Whore of Babylon. And it should all burn.