Touching Concern for Human Rights

The UN has just voted to appprove the new Human Rights Council despite the objections of US ambassador John Bolton. Bolton's opposition stemmed from US claims that the approval did not reform the council sufficiently and bar countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe from membership. In other words, the council resolution was not tough enough toward known human rights abusers. Human rights abusers, that is, who are decidedly not employed by the Bush administration.

It is impossible to ridicule the US position more than the Bush administration's own callous actions have done already. The unbridled gall displayed in decrying the UN for being lax on human rights abuse while this administration has engaged in systematic human rights abuses with indefinite detention, torture, death and abuse of prisoners, extraordinary rendition, and stripping prisoners of habeas corpus is beyond ironic. It is, in fact, beyond belief.

R. Nicholas Burns, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, claims that

The U.N. needs a stronger body to fight human rights abuses in places like Darfur and Burma.

Though not, apparently, in places like Gitmo, Abu Graib or the Salt Pit.