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American Morning
U.S. Loses Seat on U.N. Human Rights Commission
Aired May 04, 2001 - 10:26 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.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: For the first time in half a century, the United States has no seat on the Human Rights Commission at the U.N. that it helped to create. CNN's senior United Nations correspondent Richard Roth has details of yesterday's dramatic vote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A diplomatic shocker at the United Nations. For the first time ever, the United States failed to gain a seat on the important U.N. Human Rights Commission.
JAMES CUNNINGHAM, ACTING U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Well, it was election. Understandably we're very disappointed.
ROTH: The Human Rights Commission, which meets in Geneva, supervises international investigation of suspected human rights abuses around the world. In the last session just concluded, the U.S. pushed for censure of China and Cuba, among others. Since the Human Rights Commission was formed in 1947, the U.S. had a seat.
JOANNA WESCHLER, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: The U.S. should have seen it coming to it because the U.S. for several years now has been on the wrong side of several very important human rights issues.
ROTH: Diplomats and analysts think growing resentment of U.S. differences with allies on issues such as the environment, missile defense, land mines and the international criminal court may have prompted a diplomatic message to be sent.
SIR JEREMY GREENSTOCK, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Elections have become increasingly a matter of doing deals in the United Nations and the United States doesn't find it easy to do deals. It doesn't like doing deals. And one of the problems of doing deals is that you take your eye off the quality of the candidates.
ROTH: After the creation of the United Nations a half century ago, it was a former U.S. first lady who championed human rights and was the commission's first chairperson.
UNIDENTIFIED FIRST LADY: This Universal Declaration of Human Rights may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere. ROTH: The surprise rejection of the U.S. comes at the hands not of traditional political foes, but more likely European allies. The U.S. failed to beat Sweden for third place in the regional vote. France got the most votes.
JEAN-DAVID LEVITTE, FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: I deeply regret personally the result on the United States. We need the United States in the U.N.
ROTH: While criticizing the U.S., human rights groups say a more troubling pattern goes on, approving countries cited for human rights abuses to be members of the 53 nation commission.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: And reaction from around the world led by China, which practically exulted in the decision, China saying that the United States is paying the price for its "coercive methods" to achieve it aims in international bodies. At the security council this morning a short time ago, Bangladesh's ambassador said don't blame the U.S. enemies. It's really the allies of the U.S. in the Western Europe regional group which blocked the U.S. and that's what the U.S. is going to have to overcome.
And Stephen, more criticism saying that the United States government was not prepared to lobby strongly for this seat and that the failure to have a U.S. ambassador in place, a new U.S. ambassador, hurt that effort and also the failure of the U.S. to finally pay off all its dues, the millions of dollars in dues it's owed to the U.N.
FRAZIER: Richard, it's good to have you live here for the end of that report. But I want to carry some of the water for you here, since you cover the U.N. You don't want to be undiplomatic. But Amnesty International says now this is part of an effort by nations which routinely violate human rights to escape scrutiny by getting rid of the United States.
ROTH: Yes, but again, the votes were in the Western European group, so it wasn't just always the U.S. enemies having a shot. That's the way the voting was done in selected regions. But, yes, the human rights groups say while the U.S. has its problems, it's preposterous that nations such as Sudan, alga, Sierra Leone, Uganda, are sitting on the council when these countries, according to the human rights groups, have serious, grave human rights problems and abuses.
FRAZIER: In fact, as the Human Rights Watch here in the United States says, it's now a rogue's gallery of abusers on that panel now.
Richard Roth from our New York bureau covering the U.N., thank you very much.
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