Zimbabwe retains human rights role
From CNN Producer Liz Neisloss
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Over U.S. opposition that branded Zimbabwe an "entirely inappropriate" choice, Zimbabwe was re-elected Wednesday to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
"We remain deeply concerned that the government of Zimbabwe maintains repressive controls on political assembly and the media, harasses civil society groups and continues to encourage a climate where the opposition fears for its safety," said William J. Brencick, a deputy U.S. representative at the world body, in a statement to the 53-member commission.
"According to non-governmental organizations and independent observers from many countries, last month's parliamentary elections were not free and fair. The government's assault on democratic institutions has wrecked Zimbabwe's economy and forced millions to flee."
In response, Zimbabwe's U.N. ambassador Boniface Chidyausiku said, "No country is beyond approach" and "those who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
The U.N.'s main human rights body has long been the target of attacks by human rights groups and Western nations and the subject of ridicule by U.N. critics, who pointed to the removal of the United States from the commission in 2001, even as Sudan was voted in, as an example of its inconsistency.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed that the commission be changed to include only those countries that abide by the "highest human rights standards."
He has not proposed specific criteria for membership, but has suggested scrapping the current system wherein regional groups vote in favor of a broader two-thirds vote in the 191-member General Assembly.
Human Rights Watch has long advocated a massive overhaul of the commission.
Reacting to Wednesday's vote, Joanna Weschler, the group's representative at the U.N., said, "This only further underscores the diagnosis and the cure suggested by Kofi Annan which is that the commission should be replaced by something else."
The 15 members elected Wednesday to three-year terms, replacing replace nations whose terms had expired, were: Botswana, Cameroon, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Australia, Austria, Germany and the United States.
