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
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...
All information on this blog is publicly available
CURSOR DOWN FOR LATEST INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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 :
China http://is.gd/CvY4C5
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/aAZuTqGabon 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...
All information on this blog is publicly available
CURSOR DOWN FOR LATEST INTERNATIONAL NEWS
This is really useful Mags. Thanks for putting it together. And to think these guys are meant to be representing our interests!
ReplyDelete