Israel is a no-show at its U.N. human rights review

GENEVA Israel became the first nation to skip a U.N. review of its human rights record without giving a reason - and then won a precedent-setting deferral Tuesday.

The president of the U.N.'s top rights body, Polish diplomat Remigiusz Henczel, declared Israel a no-show at a meeting in Geneva and then reconvened the 47-nation Human Rights Council to decide what to do.

Israel had asked Henczel in January to postpone the review but did not provide a public explanation.

"This is a rather unique step which has never happened in the past," said German U.N. Ambassador Hanns Heinrich Schumacher.

But after a debate, the council unanimously agreed to defer the review until its next session in October and November at the latest. It took also take it up earlier.

Henczel said the compromise would set a precedent for "how to deal with all cases of non-cooperation" in the future.

All U.N. nations are required to submit to Human Rights Council review every four years. The council's spokesman, Rolando Gomez, said once previously Haiti did not appear for its review but provided a reason.

Israel's absence comes as it is forming a new governing coalition following last week's parliamentary election.

U.S. diplomats have said the council is too focused on Israel. Israel, meanwhile, said last year that it would stop cooperating with the council because of its plans for a fact-finding mission on Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Diplomats from nations such as Egypt and Pakistan quickly pounced on the Israeli absence, and the opening it could provide for other countries that might want to bow out of a rights review.

The European Union called on Israel to "respond positively" by submitting to the review later this year.

Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, the U.S. ambassador to the council, urged the body to agree to the unprecedented deferral in an effort to "find common ground and to protect" the review process.

Israel has gone through one review before in 2008, when many delegations demanded it recognize and respect Palestinians' right to self-determination and a homeland.

The Geneva-based council was set up in 2006 to replace a 60-year-old commission that was widely discredited as a forum dominated by nations with poor human rights records.

[SiDeVilIam]

UNHRC: Binyamin Netanyahu, Either **** or get off the [e-mail]

[slightly_bmused]

The UN has turned a blind eye to atrocities in the Arab and Muslim worlds. Women, Gays and non-Muslims should be outraged at the UN for forsaking them. Israel, especially in the cities of the north, (Tel-Aviv & Haifia) has shown how jews and arabs can live together in productive peace. Look at the Israeli version of "The Voice". Women, Arabs and Muslims could never express themselves like that in most arab countries. But the UN stays silent. Israel has shown the way, but the Islamo-facists see it as a threat to the religio-facist means to holding on to their political power.

The flag of Hamas has an exclusionary religious oath on it (for Allah's sake!) and Fatah's flag sports assault rifles, and the UN considers these monsters the moral equal of a progressive western society?

[lami987]

I thought human right is very important to our foreign policy. But now we just shut up and say nothing about this violation.

[superdem1]

Well, what do you expect ? Israel is actively suppressing the human rights of the Palestinian people, and is actively stealing their land and settling it with Jews so they can have a Jewish state. Any idiot can see what's going on, you don't need a panel of experts. Any idiot can see what a Human Rights review of Israeli policies will reveal, if it is done fairly and without U.S. interference. All the U.S. does is obfuscate and run interference, because we are as guilty as Israel of perpetuating this injustice. We may think the Middle East conflict is "settled" but the world does NOT. And if Israel attacks Syria over supposed chemical weapons, we are going to have a lot more to worry about than a UN Human Rights review.

[hamiltongrad]

WHAT other nations are being reviewed ? Surely the lack of rights for women, being pulled off the street and raped in Egypt, or those losing fingers and hands, and eyes in Iran, or being tortured to death in virtually all the Muslim world for being Christian? In the Pal. controlled west bank there is routine torture of their own people in jailed by fellow "Palestineans", so say the NYT and the AP. And as soon as the "Brotherhood"took over in Egypt, they too set up "torture" chambers, to drag any protester of it's Islamic rule, off the street. Where is CNN now ? Rape, Torture, mutilation, welcome to the Arab Middle East.

Surely there is an outraged, review by these passionate UN members, so concerned about human rights ? No way. What a joke.

I just read that the massacre in Mumbai in India a few years ago, was proceeded by the genital mutilations of any Christian, Jew or "European" who was not Muslim. They had control for 3 whole days, and mutilated and killed all the non Muslims the very first day. What does that tell you?
"Savages" is a word that resonates with this type of culture.

And they want to inspect Is? Are you kidding me.

[HolyVoice]

It's painfully obvious that Israel doesn't consider Palestinians worthy of human rights.

But also, many Americans don't consider a human fetus worthy of human rights either.

Both are probably for similar reasons, there isn't enough land, food and other resources to provide for those--and so they are unwanted. Is it a human right issues, or the circumstance of human created conditions?

[hamiltongrad]

I suggest you organize a protest in Egypt,demanding equal rights for women and gaaaaaiis and see how long it lasts.

[stupa5]

Go Figue...the human right policy eye foeyes!
or the way to peace revenge! instead of diplomacy & justice!