Zimbabwe re-elected to UN rights commission sparking protests

UNITED NATIONS - Zimbabwe has been re-elected to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Commission, prompting immediate protests from the United States and other nations.

Fifteen countries, including Zimbabwe, were chosen for the 53-member commission, the main UN rights body, to replace those whose three-year terms had expired.

The candidates, elected by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York, were nominated by regions and all but one ran unopposed. The United States was also re-elected.

William Brencick, the deputy US representative to ECOSOC, told the council that Zimbabwe should never have been put forward by African nations because of its "repressive controls on political assembly and the media" amid a climate "where the opposition fears for its safety. "

"How can we expect the Government of Zimbabwe to support international human rights standards at the Commission on Human Rights when it has blatantly disregarded the rights of its own people?" Brencick asked.

Australia and Canada also raised objections.

In response, Zimbabwe's UN ambassador, Boniface Chidyausiku, said that in human rights "no country is beyond reproach" and noted the situation of prisoners held by the United States in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

"It is a matter of public record that the United States has a lot of dirt on its hands and that it will do anything to ensure that it is not subjected to international scrutiny, " Chidyausiku said. He called Brencick's remarks "puerile and hate-driven. "

Only one of the 15 candidacies was contested: Azerbaijan defeated Latvia by 31 to 23 votes.

Countries on the Human Rights Commission have long been under attack by Western nations and rights groups, who contend too many nations have appalling rights records and band together to shield each other from condemnation.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his recent reform proposals recommended a new Human Rights Council to replace the Geneva commission. He said members should be elected by a two-thirds vote in the 191-member General Assembly rather than rotation by regional groups.

"Zimbabwe's re-election to the Commission reflects badly on the current functioning of the world's pre-eminent human rights body and its credibility, and underscores the need for fundamental reform of the UN's human rights machinery," said Peter Tesch, Australia's deputy UN ambassador.

Although members of the Human Rights Commission are elected by ECOSOC, seats are allotted to regional groupings, which put forward most of the candidates without opposition.

In addition to Zimbabwe, the United States and Azerbaijan, the other 12 nations elected or re-elected to the commission were: Botswana, Cameroon, Morocco, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Australia, Austria and Germany.

Created in 1946, the commission examines nations' adherence to treaties and conventions on issues ranging from illegal killings and arbitrary detention to women's rights, child pornography and the right to food and health.

- REUTERS