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U.S. Voted Off U.N. Human Rights Commission

Aired May 03, 2001 - 14:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, in what one person called a stunning development we have just learned that the United States has been voted off the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

For the reasons why and what this means, let's turn to U.N. correspondent Richard Roth. He joins us now from New York.

Richard, tell us about it.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Natalie, here at the United Nations, first time since 1947 when the U.N. Human Rights Commission was founded that the United States is not going to have a seat. And it looks like European allies of the United States used this as their first chance to send a message back to the Bush administration.

Diplomats hint or analyze that perhaps Bush administration policies on the Kyoto treaty, on the environment, missile defense, missile shields, plus Clinton administration-Bush policies on landmines, not implementing the landmine treaty, things like that, the international criminal court, this was a chance to tell the U.S. that the western allies don't agree with the Bush administration policies.

Human rights activists tell us that Washington should have seen this coming. The U.S. needed to finish in the top three in western regional voting, lost out to Sweden, Australia, and France. The U.S. Congress is not going to be happy about this, Natalie.

ALLEN: Has there been any reaction yet from the U.S. there at the U.N.?

ROTH: Acting U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham, who by coincidence, happens to be president of the Security Council for the month of May called it a disappointment and that the U.S. is very, very disappointed, but this will not stop the U.S. commitment to human rights.

The U.S. has been kicked off before key prestigious U.N. bodies. And that angered the United States Congress, which withheld millions of dollars in back dues.

This should be very interesting to see how this plays out in the U.S.-U.N. relationship. But once again, this was not countries like Libya or Cuba who are very much opposed to the United States. This could have been allies to Washington that voted Washington off.

ALLEN: Well, we will, as you say, get reaction from the Bush administration and from Capitol Hill on this story, this development that we're just learning about. Richard Roth at the United Nations, thanks.

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