Issue Brief posted September 5, 2012 by Brett D. Schaefer
The U.N. Human Rights Council Does Not Deserve U.S. Support
The African Union’s decision to nominate Sudan for the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) elicited justifiable outrage. Pressure from human rights groups and governments led Kenya to announce its own election bid, causing Sudan to withdraw. This was a welcome development; the notion of the genocidal government sitting on the most visible U.N. human rights body was…
Backgrounder posted June 23, 2011 by Brett D. Schaefer
The U.S. Should Pursue an Alternative to the U.N. Human Rights Council
Abstract: The U.N. Human Rights Council has failed to consistently fulfill its mandate to hold governments accountable for violating basic human rights and fundamental freedoms and to promote and protect human rights. Two years of U.S. membership on and engagement with the council have not significantly improved its performance. Rather than continuing to expend finite…
Testimony posted March 3, 2011 by Ambassador Terry Miller
Reform of the United Nations: Lessons Learned
Testimony before The Committee on Foreign Affairs United States House of Representatives Thursday, March 3, 2011
My name is Terry Miller. I am the Director of the Center for International Trade and Economics at The Heritage Foundation. As a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, I served on delegations to U.N. meetings or at our Permanent Mission in New York from 1979…
WebMemo posted November 5, 2010 by Brett D. Schaefer, Steven Groves
U.S. Targeted by Human Rights Abusers at Its Universal Periodic Review
The United States underwent a three-hour review of its human rights record before the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on November 5 under that body’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). As predicted,[1] the farcical nature of the process was immediately apparent as serial human rights violators Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Russia, China, Sudan, and North Korea queued up…
WebMemo posted August 26, 2010 by Brett D. Schaefer, Steven Groves
The U.S. Universal Periodic Review: Flawed from the Start
The United States recently released its report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). This report will serve as the basis of the U.S.’s first examination under that body’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR).[1] Although the U.S. report gives undue attention and credit to the actions of the Obama Administration, it is largely a factual presentation of current U.S.…
Backgrounder posted June 2, 2010 by Brett D. Schaefer
Elections for U.N. Human Rights Council Underscore the Need for Reform
Abstract:
The U.N. Human Rights Council’s record over its first four years is gravely disappointing. Contrary to claims made by the Obama Administration, U.S. membership on the council has not appreciably improved its performance. However, the council can now claim added legitimacy for its decisions and resolutions because of U.S. support and membership. The…
WebMemo posted April 7, 2010 by Grace Melton
CEDAW and the New U.N. Gender Office: The U.S. Can Do Better
The 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) concluded last month at the United Nations, with even more feminist fanfare than in recent years. The CSW is a functional body that meets annually to discuss and review the situation of women and girls worldwide. This year the CSW commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on…
Backgrounder posted November 10, 2008 by Steven Groves
Why the U.S. Should Oppose "Defamation of Religions" Resolutions at the United Nations
For the past several years, the United Nations Human Rights
Council and General Assembly have adopted resolutions recognizing
and promoting the concept of "defamation of religions." Proponents
seek to establish an international ban on any speech that would
insult, criticize, offend, or disparage any person's religion.
Specifically, the Organization of the Islamic…
WebMemo posted September 24, 2008 by Brett D. Schaefer
President Bush's Farewell to the U.N.: A Call for Reform and Action
President George W. Bush's final address to the United Nations was, in many ways, an encapsulation of America's primary objectives in the U.N over the past eight years. Several issues were featured prominently in the speech, including:
An appeal for the organization and the member states to more forcefully confront terrorism;
A demand for more action by the…
WebMemo posted May 2, 2008 by Brett D. Schaefer
The U.S. Is Right to Shun the U.N. Human Rights Council
The United Nations General Assembly voted in March 2006 to
replace the Commission on Human Rights with the Human Rights
Council. The Commission, dominated by human rights abusers who used
their influence to block scrutiny or criticism, proved to be a poor
champion of human rights.
Nearly two years after it was created, the United States'
concerns that the Council…