U.S. will undergo human rights scrutiny

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Washington Post

U.S. will undergo human rights scrutiny
Thursday, March 18, 2010

Rolling out the State Department's latest human rights report, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that, for the first time, the United States will submit itself to a process in which its record might be judged by some of the world's worst human rights abusers.

"Human rights are universal, but their experience is local. This is why we are committed to holding everyone to the same standard, including ourselves," Clinton said, referring to U.S. participation this fall in what's called the "universal periodic review" process, run by the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Critics say the 47-member council, which was established in March 2006 to replace the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, has been hijacked since its inception by human rights violators such as Cuba, China and Egypt. George W. Bush's administration refused to join, citing the council's nondemocratic makeup and its frequent criticisms of Israel, but the Obama administration reversed that decision last spring.

All 192 U.N. member countries are supposed to go through the UPR process every four years, but some critics warn that the Obama team is simply giving human rights abusers the perfect chance to justify their own atrocities.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031704114.html?wprss=rss_world

[msongs]

1. 2 full on wars of occupation? check. at least 2 proxy wars maybe more? check . oh looks bad 4 us nt

[Indi Guy]

2. K&R The UN Wants More Than it Lets On...

Globalism would be great if it weren't an "ism".

[EFerrari]

3. Ah, the Waho:

Rolling out the State Department's latest human rights report, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that, for the first time, the United States will submit itself to a process in which its record might be judged by some of the world's worst human rights abusers.

A little quick on the draw, no?

[caraher]

9. Fair and balanced

I noticed that line, too... good way to characterize the whole international community :puke:

[Jamastiene]

4. It's a shame.

America always had so much potential to do better. Too bad we can't seem to get up to the U.N.'s reasonable human rights standards. If you look at their web site about human rights, they aren't asking for much, just that people be treated like human beings.

[DesertDiamond]

7. Sorry, there's no profit in that.

[skeptical cynic]

5. The day may be rapidly approaching when

we are judged by our actions, rather than our rhetoric.

I think that day has already come in terms of world opinion, but we still have enough control of institutions to prevent any formal actions.

[sabrina 1]

6. Our torture victims are all over the world now, attempting to

get justice for the crimes committed against them which they have been denied here. They are telling their stories in coutries where the media does cover these things, like Britain and other European countries. I believe we lost a few members of the 'coalition of the willing' who withdrew their troops after Abu Ghraib.

But here we don't hear much about how the rest of the world views this country now. Freepers of course are so isolated that they think it doesn't matter how we are viewed. The country lost so much respect around the world during the Bush administration but we could have regained some of that if we had had the will to prosecute the criminals.

In a way, Obama was our last hope. While he is still popular overseas, I read a few weeks ago, that countries like Indonesia where he was extremely popular right after he was elected, eg, are losing confidence in him.

It's sad to say, but in some countries we are viewed in the same way we viewed the Soviet Union, as a place where there is no justice, where foreigners are in danger of being spirited away and tortured for years and where countries live in fear that we will 'bring them Democracy' rather than 'bring them Communism'.

[Syntheto]

10. Sorry, but...

... I was in the Gulf in the mid-seventies as a sailor in the Navy and they didn't like us then, either... we had no respect, and this whole mythology about how 'once upon a time, the world loved us until the evil Bush came to power' is silly... Our ship visited Brest, France and took part in the Bicentennial celebrations there... the old people came up and shook our hands and explained how they loved America and Americans for their help in liberating the country in 1944; while some of the younger people, of our own age, spat at us because of some sort of kickback scheme involving French military procurement officials and the Lockheed corporation... we had no idea what was up, because we had been on a six-month deployment and had no access to news, those being the pre-wired Internet and cell phones days... the British were condescending and tut-tutting us about Vietnam and the Japanese didn't like American military bases on their soil, nor did the people of the Phillipines, or Germany for that matter... I'd like to know exactly when this golden period of world love and respect for America and Americans happened, because in my experience, I've never come across it, and I would certainly love to be enlightened...

[icee]

13. During and immediately after WW2 there was some of that, but

not as much as the press protrayed. I'm a Vietnam Vet, so I look at everything through a cloud. America is deservedly hated around the world and payback is getting closer and closer. Rome redux.

[Wizard777]

8. Hey! We're the only ones allowed to justify our own atrocities.

[Ed76638]

11. This is going to draw a lot of hate from the teabagging douches.

I can't fucking wait.

:smoke:

[salguine]

12. I look at Clinton's comment in the OP, and I have to wonder, knowing what we know, how

she can say that with a straight face.

[Mr Rabble]

16. Par for the course with her, sadly.

Two options-

1. She is so totally deluded, having been at the pinnacle of US power for several decades, that she actually believes it.

2. She is lying through her teeth, knowing that the loyal and subservient media will never make mention of it.

Either way, it looks bad to those who know the truth.

FWIW- this behavior is totally standard for anyone in power. If we do it that means it is noble and just, and if an official enemy does it, obviously, it is an atrocity.

[grahamhgreen]

14. But those innocent people MADE us torture them!

[wial]

15. wow hijacked, eh

and we're just innocent passengers on the good plane genocide?

coz when you slaughter over a million civilians (let alone soldiers, personally I never understood the distinction) it's genocide in my book, and we just keep doing it. With a toothily grinning John McCain as bumbling crash-prone pilot.

[JBoy]

17. Not sure how good the US' grade on the report will be. Enjoy summer school!

[tpsbmam]

18. About time.....

We've engaged in atrocities around the world for a long, long time -- they just weren't as blatant as Bush's. And we have more ability to communicate now -- e.g., the "little people" can bypass the media and the bosses and send pictures of torture around the world in seconds.

This comes at a good time IMO. Obama needs to get a clue that the world is watching as he blithely continues some of the Bush practices and policies that are gross violations of human and constitutional rights, the same ones we for decades have damned other countries for practicing. He's bright -- I'm sure he does have a clue but maybe is relying on the superficial press to once again dupe all of us. Certainly progressives and human rights groups have glaringly brought it to his attention but he has a proven ability to totally dismiss us or anything we have to say. Maybe this will give him widely publicized international opinion that he'll listen to.....then again, maybe not.

[Jkid]

19. Not only they need to focus on the federal laws

But the various state laws as well.

[ConcernedCanuk]

20. AS IF . . .

.
.
.

It'll be a kowtowing whitewash

as the USA continues its invasions and slaughtering across the Globe

Hey

If the USA wasn't killing these people;

someone else would be,

right?

so why not the "superpower" ? ? ?

(sigh)