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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsU.S. State Dept. making the world safe for hypocrisy
U.S. State Department Welcomes News That Saudi Arabia Will Head U.N. Human Rights Panel
Last weeks announcement that Saudi Arabia easily one of the worlds most brutally repressive regimes was chosen to head a U.N. Human Rights Council panel provoked indignation around the world. That reaction was triggered for obvious reasons. Not only has Saudi Arabia executed more than 100 people already this year, mostly by beheading (a rate of 1 execution every two days), and not only is it serially flogging dissidents, but it is reaching new levels of tyrannical depravity as it is about to behead and then crucify the 21-year-old son of a prominent regime critic, Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who was convicted at the age of 17 of engaging in demonstrations against the government.
Most of the world may be horrified at the selection of Saudi Arabia to head a key U.N. human rights panel, but the U.S. State Department most certainly is not. Quite the contrary: its officials seem quite pleased about the news. At a State Department briefing yesterday afternoon, Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner was questioned by the invaluable Matt Lee of AP, and this is the exchange that resulted:
QUESTION: Change topic? Saudi Arabia.....................(more)
MR. TONER: Saudi Arabia.
QUESTION: Yesterday, Saudi Arabia was named to head the Human Rights Council, and today I think they announced they are about to behead a 21-year-old Shia activist named Muhammed al-Nimr. Are you aware of that?
MR. TONER: Im not aware of the trial that you or the verdict death sentence.
QUESTION: Well, apparently, he was arrested when was 17 years old and kept in juvenile detention, then moved on. And now, hes been scheduled to be executed.
MR. TONER: Right. I mean, weve talked about our concerns about some of the capital punishment cases in Saudi Arabia in our Human Rights Report, but I dont have any more to add to it.
QUESTION: So you
QUESTION: Well, how about a reaction to them heading the council?
MR. TONER: Again, I dont have any comment, dont have any reaction to it. I mean, frankly, its we would welcome it. Were close allies. If we
QUESTION: Do you think that theyre an appropriate choice given I mean, how many pages is does Saudi Arabia get in the Human Rights Report annually?
MR. TONER: I cant give that off the top of my head, Matt.
QUESTION: I cant either, but lets just say that theres a lot to write about Saudi Arabia and human rights in that report. Im just wondering if you that its appropriate for them to have a leadership position.
https://theintercept.com/2015/09/23/u-s-state-department-welcomes-news-close-ally-saudi-arabia-chosen-head-u-n-human-rights-council-panel
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U.S. State Dept. making the world safe for hypocrisy (Original Post)
marmar
Sep 2015
OP
Saudi is the mother of all hypocritical stains of the many stains of American foreign policy.
Fred Sanders
Sep 2015
#1
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)1. Saudi is the mother of all hypocritical stains of the many stains of American foreign policy.
Questions that a true journalist would pose....many kudos for that!
Recursion
(56,582 posts)2. Isn't membership on that council assigned alphabetically? (nt)