Trump 2.0 - Human rights are not a thing

Just a Reminder

May 15, 2015

The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a scathing report today, consisting of 348 recommendations that address myriad human rights violations in the United States.

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The report came out as a part of a mechanism called the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which examines the human rights record of all U.N. member states.

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[T]he report adopted a recommendation made by Sweden to "halt the detention of immigrant families and children, seek alternatives to detention and end use of detention for reason of deterrence." The report also adopted several recommendations calling on the Obama administration to independently investigate allegations of torture documented in the recent Senate torture report and provide reparations to victims.

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In addition, the report included many fitting recommendations to address police brutality and excessive use of force as well as ending racial profiling against minorities and immigrants.

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This report sends a strong message of no-confidence in the U.S. human rights record. It clearly demonstrates that the United States has a long way to go to live up to its human rights obligations and commitments.

  ACLU

The UN's human rights recommendations to the United States in 2010 numbered 228.  We're moving fast.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

How Handy

At the end of September, Ecuador’s foreign ministry announced that the US had seemingly denied visas to a delegation that was set to travel to the UN General Assembly in New York to present their case regarding an ongoing dispute against Chevron-Texaco.

According to the ministry’s official announcement, visas for the five Ecuadorian nationals were returned by the US Embassy in Quito “without any explanation.”

The group was to present testimony during a special event at the UN regarding the ecological impact caused by Chevron-Texaco’s oil operations in the Amazon rainforest region of Ecuador, which contaminated two million hectares, according to the country’s government.

  RT

Shouldn't the UN be its own territory? Grant its own visas? How nice for the United States that it is on US soil and subject to visa control by the US government.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

We Can Do What We Want

A response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria is possible without the unanimous consent of the UN Security Council, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.

“I would argue yes it is, otherwise it might be impossible to respond to such outrages, such crimes, and I don't think that's an acceptable situation," Hague said on BBC radio, when asked whether it would be possible to respond to the use of chemical weapons without the backing of the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Royal Navy is reportedly moving ships into place for a possible strike with the US on Syria in the next few days.

  RT

Did you think we were operating a democracy here? Or a global consortium?  International law?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Drip, Drip, Drip

The US National Security Agency (NSA) successfully cracked the encryption code protecting the United Nations’ internal videoconferencing system, according to documents seen by Germany’s Der Spiegel.

The United States was not just busy spying on the European Union, the report revealed, but had its surveillance apparatus trained on the international body as well.

The publication reported on Sunday that the electronic breaching of the UN, which is headquartered in New York, occurred in the summer of 2012.

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On August 15, Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economics and Technology, Philipp Rösler, said Germany will take definite action to limit the NSA’s ability to spy on European Union communications.

The first step will be to build “a strong European information technology industry that can offer alternatives” to US-owned firms that collaborate with the NSA, said Rösler.

  RT

Another Fine Start

Caracas brought talks with the US to an abrupt end over statements made by Samantha Power, the nominee for UN ambassador. Venezuela blasted Washington for backing Power’s “meddling agenda” after she criticized human rights in the country.

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They took issue with the statements of the US candidate for ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, who expressed “concern” over Caracas’ management of human right issues on Wednesday before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will never accept meddling in its internal affairs. We reject the fact that a nominee for the post of UN ambassador has interference in Venezuela on her agenda,” said Elias Jaua, the Venezuelan minister of foreign affairs.

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Following Power’s words on Wednesday, Caracas sent a message to Washington, voicing Venezuela’s condemnation of her statements. The State Department responded by expressing their support for Power’s candidacy for UN ambassador.

  RT

Of course it did.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Disaster Relief Turned Into Disaster

The UN has taken the rare step of invoking its legal immunity to rebuff claims for compensation from 5,000 victims of the Haiti cholera epidemic, the worst outbreak of the disease in modern times and widely believed to have been caused by UN peacekeepers importing the infection into the country.

Citing a convention laid down in 1946, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, telephoned President Michel Martelly of Haiti to tell him that the UN was not willing to compensate any of the claimants. The epidemic has killed almost 8,000 people and stricken hundreds of thousands more – about one out of every 16 Haitians.

For the UN to claim immunity for a crisis that most experts are convinced it unwittingly caused through its own disaster relief mission is highly contentious. The infection is thought to have been carried into Haiti by UN peacekeepers from Nepal sent to help with disaster relief following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

  UK Guardian

Haiti can never catch a break. 

The Bully and His Bride Seem to be Losing Their Iron Grip

The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution on Thursday giving implicit recognition to Palestinian statehood despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding funds for the West Bank government.

  World News NBC

More than 130 countries voted on Thursday to grant Palestine the upgraded status of nonmember observer state in the United Nations, a stinging defeat for Israel and the United States and a boost for President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, who was weakened by the recent eight days of fighting in Gaza.

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[The] vote offered a showcase for an extraordinary international lineup of support for the Palestinians and constituted a deeply symbolic achievement for their cause.

  NYTimes

The vote, which was taken at a meeting of the body in New York on Thursday, represents a long-sought victory for the Palestinians but a diplomatic defeat for the US, with 138 countries voting in favour of the upgrade.

Nine countries voted against it and 41 others abstained.

A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation.

[…]

Immediately after the results were announced, US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice reiterated the US opposition to upgrading the Palestinians to a nonmember an observer "entity".

"Today's unfortunate and counter-productive resolution places further obstacles in the path to peace. That is why the United States voted against it," she said.

  alJazeera

Or maybe it was because Israel leads the US around by the balls.

Israel's Latest Is Too Much Even for the British Government

Looks like we're going to be out there alone with Israel at the UN.

Britain is prepared to back a key vote recognising Palestinian statehood at the United Nations if Mahmoud Abbas pledges not to pursue Israel for war crimes and to resume peace talks.

Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, has called for Britain’s backing in part because of its historic responsibility for Palestine. The government has previously refused, citing strong US and Israeli objections and fears of long-term damage to prospects for negotiations.

On Monday night, the government signalled it would change tack and vote yes if the Palestinians modified their application, which is to be debated by the UN general assembly in New York later this week.

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The US and Israel have both hinted at possible retaliation if the vote goes ahead.

  Raw Story

Oh Yeah, That'll Happen

The UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has called on the United States to mitigate the “sense of loss” among the Native American community by restoring some tribal lands.

James Anaya, made the comments after a 12-day tour of the United States, during which he met with tribal leaders in the capital as well as in the states of Arizona, Alaska, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington.

  Raw Story

What's more likely to happen is that the UN will be kicked out of the US if its members keep wandering around OUR country.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

On the Runway

The board of the UN's atomic watchdog has passed a resolution expressing "deep and increasing concern" over Iran nuclear activities, following the Vienna-based body's recent highly critical report of the country's atomic programme.

However, the text of the resolution, proposed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany and 12 others, stopped short of reporting Iran to the UN Security Council or setting Tehran a deadline to comply.

  alJazeera

That’s the next step.

I listened to an interview with Chris Floyd last night in which he and Cindy Sheehan commented that the politicians in charge don’t even bother to be original with their aggressive buildups any more. Sadly, true. They just rinse and repeat. Floyd also lamented that politics draws a certain kind of person; that no one would be in high political positions if they didn’t already think that way. There are exceptions to the first part, but the second part of that is dead on. He also made the same comment about mainstream newscasters, saying they don’t have to be censored, because they are believers. You can listen to the interview here, and while Floyd apologizes for his performance on his website (it was the night his father died), in my opinion, it’s Sheehan that’s difficult to follow.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.