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Tuesday 22 February 2011

Can't the UN do something ?...

That is the question I have seen time and time again on Twitter but none more so than in the last few days regarding the events in Libya.

Last evening that question must have appeared about 20 or 30 times just in my timeline...   So what is the UN doing ?  In checking this out last evening, I found out that the UN was on holiday.  When I tweeted that little piece of information tweets flowed in suggesting that it couldn't possibly be true...  I even received a comment from Faisal Islam, of Channel 4 News "No way" he said !  Thinking he'd take some convincing I sent him this link http://is.gd/vGzhch confirming that it was Washington's Birthday - a Bank Holiday in the US known now as President's Day.

But enough of that, I decided to do a bit of digging at the UN to establish who exactly are the members of the United Nations Security Council & Human Rights Commission.  Well, here's what I found...

The Membership of the UN Security Council http://is.gd/fgzZVj

Those Member States - what are their values ?  Do they value human rights as a basic right ?

Before you look at the countries, which is what I did earlier, I think to get a sense of what their values are  look at the paragraph under the heading 'Torture' and the Visit Reports which appear at the end of each Document.  Otherwise it will take you all night.   All the reports are produced by Amnesty International.  WARNING : some information is very upsetting.

The first five countries are permanent members
Russian Federation http://is.gd/Vr9XDw 
The United Kingdom http://is.gd/F5OEWz 
The United States  http://is.gd/tGH8DN  

The following ten countries are members for two years:
Bosnia & Herzegovina http://is.gd/fEIAte    
Brazil  http://is.gd/oLK9T7 
Columbia  http://is.gd/aAZuTq
Gabon  http://is.gd/HfLxs5  (no UN presence so why does it sit on the UN Sec Council?)
Germany http://is.gd/6QA2Sb
India  http://is.gd/TF9AuU
Lebanon  http://is.gd/kmng31
Nigeria  http://is.gd/euRJyp
Portugal  http://is.gd/QBq2jx
South Africa  http://is.gd/BndovG

So there you have it.   Although we get some answers, these reports raise difficult questions.  What next for the UN Security Council ?   How enforceable are the rules that the UN lays down ?  If member states don't abide by them,, what can be done ?   Looks like the Inernational Court of Justice is the only way forward and the next step for some  http://is.gd/r30IG9.  It is possibly the only place to go for an end to some of the very grave injustices that are occurring every day throughout the world - and to bring the perpetrators to justice...  But  how long does it have to take ?  It seems so unjust when we see people fighting in the streets for their freedom... to gain basic human necessities eg food, let alone the torturous and repressive conditions.  Although we call for an end to what we are seeing in Libya, and other countries, what can we really do ?  Personally, I feel rather helpless... 


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1 comment:

  1. This is really useful Mags. Thanks for putting it together. And to think these guys are meant to be representing our interests!

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