generalspeaking

Iran's Victory...

Another annual event has taken place within the United Nations as the General Assembly barely passed a resolution condemning Iran for its human rights abuses. The yearly draft resolution titled Situation of Human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran passed with 74 countries in favour, 48 against the resolution, and with 59 abstentions. It's always represented a tight squeeze, successful passage of that resolution. Canada, with the help of Norway and Sweden, managed to convince enough countries to join in that condemnation.

But not enough, evidently, to convince Iran that the entire General Assembly shares those sentiments that accuse it of "harassment, intimidation and persecution" of protesters and bystanders caught up in the mass denunciations of the corrupt presidential elections that saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad returned to power, in June. The resolution makes prominent mention, as is always does, of institutionalized torture, flogging, amputations and stone. And persecution of minorities, religions other than Islam, and gays.

The resolution is countered in part by Arab and Muslim states' traditional approval of resolutions targeting Israel. The latest eight brought forward on Israel represented part of the 20 or so sanctions normally brought to the General Assembly denouncing the actions of the Jewish State in support of Palestinian and Arab causes. Where Israel is accused of human-rights abuses, where Zionism is equated with racism, where Israel is named an aggressor-state, dominating and suppressing freedoms among Palestinians.

The eight resolutions newly endorsed had fascinating titles such as "Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices", "Israeli Practices Affecting Rights of Palestinian People", and others such. Effectively placing the only democratic country in the Middle East in direct company as a purportedly oppressive, human-rights offending state, with a true, brutally tyrannical one like Iran. Israel makes no claims for itself other than to observe that it is the world's most egregious human-rights abusers who slander its reputation and seek to isolate it.

Iran, on the other hand, interprets its damning vote as a victory. "The high number of votes against or in abstention illustrates the majority of member states continue to refuse to support the proposition put forward by Canada and its allies", according to the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations. "This pattern of voting clearly indicates yet again that ... measures should be taken to prevent certain countries such as Canada from abusing the United Nations."

Lunatic perversity? That's not the half of it. Under the circumstances, where right has been turned into wrong, and accusations are routinely lodged and supported against countries upholding freedom and human rights, while the worst human-rights abusers grandly pose as saviours of a just world, what value has the United Nations?

Labels: Government of Canada, Human Rights, Israel, United Nations

posted by Pieface @ Saturday, November 21, 2009