I’m going to go way out on a limb and suggest that it’s not a good thing for the UN Secretary General to vote “present” on the matter of human rights.
The brutal crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad may finally be getting the attention of world leaders — but apparently not enough to stop Syria from becoming the newest member of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
And despite calling for an independent investigation into the crackdown, which has left hundreds dead, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon apparently won’t do much about blocking Syria’s path to the human rights group.
“That’s not really for the secretary general to suggest to a member state,” said Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for the secretary-general, when asked if the U.N. chief would ask Syria to drop out of the running for the post. When asked if Ban had brought up the point during his telephone conversation April 9 with Assad, Nesirsky told Fox News, “that’s not really something the secretary general would raise specifically, because it’s for other member states to decide on the membership of the Human Rights Council.”
Surely, though Ban’s word must have some weight among member states. If he can’t swing a few of them to block Syria’s appointment, he might as well pack up shop and go home now because his position is worth about as much as the job of Assistant Crack Whore in Times Square.
What Bashir al-Assad has perpetrated in Syria can only be honestly described as a slaughter. His troops have attacked women and children. They have gunned down mourners at funerals of people killed by the regime just days earlier. Ban Ki-Moon has no good excuse for not using all the power of his office to deny Assad the legitimacy a seat on the Human Rights Council would carry. If he can not stand up for the innocent and defenseless victims of the tyrant’s murderous rampage, he should resign in shame.
Of course he won’t do that. The tyrants are his largest constituent group. They lend him power so he can strut and preen on the world stage. They allow him to chase the mythical monsters of global warming, the United States world hegemony, and the devilishly clever Jews to his heart’s content so long as he does nothing to impede their savagery. Shame on him, and shame on us for not demanding just a small scrap of decency from him.
Tags: No More Tyrants, United Nations
