Canada, Where Art Thou?

Why, my beloved country sits comfortably in the bosom of the United Nations, and perhaps more spectacularly within the heartfelt human-rights bastion of the Human Rights Council. That newly reconstructed, name-altered body whose reason for being is to monitor the state of human rights throughout the world, and to bring to account those countries whose abuse of same is paramount.

Thus the successor to the sadly discredited Human Rights Commission goes on its merry way, overloaded with representation from Arab and Muslim states with an ongoing ax to grind, and grind it they do. What is Canada doing in their midst? Our mild-mannered, avuncular, beaming-faced, human-rights dedicated Canada in amongst the group constituting some of the world's worst human-rights abusers sitting in comfortable denunciation of their enemy?

One country and one country only has consistently been singled out for bitter remonstrance on the basis of their indeterminate but obviously horrendous human rights abuses. So hideously unspeakable are this country's ongoing abuses of human rights that truly unspeakable abusers such as North Korea, Sudan and Burma look downright heavenly in comparison. The Human Rights Council continues to target Israel.

Forget, oh do, the millions of refugees, the hundreds of thousands murdered, the thousands upon thousands of women raped and tortured in Sudan for example; that's child's play compared to how the State of Israel makes its Palestinian neighbours suffer; road blocks, refusal to pay taxes owing until the Palestinian parliament (largely represented now by a terrorist group whose raison d'etre is the elimination of the State of Israel) disavows its intent of state-icide.

What is the world coming to? Canada, why are you there, part of that vicious circle? Your presence there renders reassurance that reasonable, stout-hearted Canada must in some way agree with this general assessment of blame and censure. Even if you do protest and abstain and refuse to censure. Get the hell out of there, please do!

Why, even the redoubtable Kofi Annan is questioning the work of his own institute's council. "Obviously not everyone is entirely happy with the way they have started" Mr. Annan has stated. Quite as obviously he's handily overlooking the general glee of the Arab and Muslim states whose presence predominates in the council and whose sole agenda sees success after lamentable success.

Good heavens, even Louise Arbour, the UN's Human Rights Commissioner, no friend of Israel to be sure, in addressing the council recently suggested "There are surely other situations, besides the ones in the Middle East, which would merit scrutiny by a special session". There, it's said! By no less an authority on human rights than Madam Arbour, recommending Darfur as a "glaring case in point".

Cordial and respectful relations are the order of the day among United Nations delegates and representative nations. Oops, there's always Israel, the perpetually scorned, the outsider.