The Unassailable Humanitarianism of Louise Arbour
There, she's at it again, the UN high commissioner for human rights demonstrating her impeccable qualifications as the arbiter of human rights' designations. Giving what appears to be unqualified support to a new charter born in the Islamic Middle East, which gives credit to gays, feminists and Zionists as representatives of the zenith of decadence; combined they represent a moral assault on the world of decency and human rights.The righteously redoubtable high commissioner has thrown her support behind an Arab human rights charter which makes no secret of its commitment to the elimination of Zionism, the hunting down of homosexuals (a capital offence, disgusting to Allah under shariah law) and the unequivocal tamping down of Islam's female quotient's expectations of equal treatment in Islamic society under the law.
From Geneva, where she is headquartered, the high commissioner has given her royal assent to the Arab Charter on Human Rights. The universally-applicable Charter on Human Rights hammered out in the early days of the formation of the United Nations from the League of Nations, simply does not reflect the values, the culture and the traditions of the Muslim world.
It is no more than reasonable that pan-Arab and Muslim countries design and invoke a charter of rights that reflects their very particular values, inherent within and born of religious conviction, a religion that formally and rigorously sets out expectations of its followers from birth until death.
This is their right, although any reasonable mind might feel that the issues relating to human rights protections truly are universal, cutting across and absorbing all religions, traditions and cultures. An unassailable standard.
However, this is a charter with a very special agenda, and its framers are fairly up-front about that agenda. Zionism, the longing and determination of Jews world wide to achieve and protect a homeland of their own, free from racial bias and mortal threats against Jews, is declared racism.
"Regional systems of promotion and protection can further help strengthen the enjoyment of human rights, and the ... charter is an important step forward in this direction", according to Ms. Arbour. So while the document declares respect for some internationally recognized tenets of human rights, Zionism is inconclusively racist, and to be strenuously fought.
Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists and UN Watch beg to differ. They feel that the charter's preamble makes reference to "rejecting all forms of racism and Zionism" as they purportedly, to the Arab-Muslim mind represent the violation of human rights, threatening peace and security internationally.
Indeed, Article 2 of the 53-article charter goes further, to declare that "all forms of racism, Zionism and foreign occupation and domination" must be unequivocally "condemned and efforts must be deployed for their elimination". That's fairly straightforward. Nicely setting the stage for yet another, this time 'charter-authorized', pan-Arab existential march on Israel.
Viewed through the lens of Jewish history, the linking of Zionism with racism is an unfortunately blatant expression of anti-Semitism. This is a kind of double-speak for which the Levant and the greater Middle East has become famous. Carry that forward to "condemned" and "elimination" and the charter speaks of genocidal intent.
Throughout the document "Zionist entity" appears repeatedly, for to mention the name of the Jewish state is anathema to those countries which loath the very idea of its existence in their Islamic geography, an insult to Islam which does not permit Arab land to fall into the hands of any other than Muslims.
The Arab charter, obviously, gives validation to the Arab anti-Israel cause, and is far preferable in an expression of Islamic values than is the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Arab charter is loosely based on international standards, but with the major emphasis on Islamic ideology, and even those rights spelled out in their charter can be handily suspended in the instance of what they may deem an "emergency".
This is moral equivalency and moral inversion at its very best. It's also a prime display of hypocrisy and an obvious deep misunderstanding of exactly what constitutes human rights and the scourge of racism. The charter will recognize marriage only between genders. And it speaks of "positive discrimination" well established by Islamic Shariah with respect to the equality of women.
The United Arab Emirates has become the latest, and the seventh country to ratify this sterling piece of work. It joins the governments of Jordan, Bahrain, Algeria, Syria, the Palestinian Authority and Libya. All sturdily enthusiastic bastions of human-rights support. With the notable exception of Jordan, the signatories' assent was doubtless encouraged by the signal calls for the "elimination of Israel".
Long may truth, justice and the ongoing struggle for human rights reign.
Labels: Anti-Semitism, Israel, Justice, Middle East
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, January 30, 2008
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