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A draft resolution seeking creation of the Human Rights Council supplanting the controversial and discredited Human Rights Commission has been circulated in the United Nations. The Human Rights Council will be a 45-member body unlike the Commission which has 53 members.
The Council will be in session round the year. Strict criteria will be set to make nations eligible for membership of the Council.
Countries with poor civil rights records will not be qualified for the membership. Cuba, Sudan and Zimbabwe, all such countries with severely tarnished human rights records are ironically members of the Human Rights Commission.
The Commission is beginning its six-week annual session in Geneva from March 13. The creation of the council must win general assembly's approval by Feb 15. Commission members with abject human rights records always blocked move to review their human rights abuses.
The practice' cast a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations as a whole', Kofi Anan said while circulating the resolution on the creation of the Council. The members of the council will have to be elected by two-thirds majority of the 191 members of general assembly.
No country will be immediately eligible for membership of the council after serving two terms. The human rights record of the members of the past three years will be put into scrutiny.
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An Australian team investigating the UN sponsored food for oil scam in Iraq will look into possible involvement of Canberra in the scandal. The investigating team has found out that a government backed food exporter in Australia poured out $220 million in bribes and kickbacks to Saddam to win a contract. Prime Minister John Howard has come under scathing attack. The United States refrained from making any comment.
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The United States will be the president of the UN Security Council for the month of February. US ambassador John Bolton's attempt to start the meetings of the council just on time failed. The meeting starts at 10 AM and none of the 15 members showed up on time.
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US ties with some Latin American countries like Venezuela and Bolivia have worsened in recent times. Venezuela has expelled the American Naval Attache charging him for spying. The US retaliated promptly by ordering removal of a Venezuelan diplomat from Washington. The US State Department refused to agree that it was a tit for tat action. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela was compared with Hitler by US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Chavez has supported Iran's bid to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. John Negroponte, director of US National Intelligence told Senate Intelligence Committee that Hugo Chavaz was seeking close economic and military ties with Iran and North Korea, two countries described as rogue states by President Bush.
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The United States whose ties with Arab nations are far from friendly sprang a major surprise by condemning the European newspapers for printing the imaginery photograph of Prophet Mohammad ( sm ) and igniting violent protests by Muslims across the world. The media's action was seen as provocative. Britain also made a similar public statement. London witnessed a huge protest march by Muslims after the Juma prayers.
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An American official who was posted in Iraq pleaded guilty before a court to charges of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, unlawful possession of machine guns. The former official Robert Stein admitted stealing $2 million in cash and taking bribes in lieu of accepting rigged bids and tenders for awarding construction contracts to Philip Bloom. Two senior army officers have been arrested for their involvement.
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Transparency International, Bangladesh Chapter, who are over zealous in potraying Bangladesh as a worst corrupt nation in the world must acknowledge the fact that corruption is not unique in Bangladesh.
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