Sitting In Judgement

Diplomatic manoeuvring is commencing for the elbows-jousting places on the United Nations Human Rights Council.  And who now seems guaranteed to attain a seat on the UNHRC once again?  Why, Syria, don't you know!  It has been pointed out derisively that this counter-human-rights country with its regime slaughtering protesters calling for the removal of its president, should be referred to the International Criminal Court.

Syria's actions against those who wish to remove the Alawite regime from power are held to be outrageously atrocious.  And they are.  But then, this is the Middle East.  And this is, in particular, Syria.  Where, on the other side of the equation lurks the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, and other Islamist groups awaiting their opportunity to gain greater prominence and with it, a large share of the improvement of Syrian society.

While it is true that the regime of Bashar al-Assad is guilty of committing atrocities, true human rights abuses against its enemies - the Sunni quotient of the Syrian population frantically and violently protesting against the military -  It is also true that many of the members of the Free Syrian Army are themselves responsible for committing atrocious acts of murderous violence against Alawites and members of the military.  They are evenly matched.

And Syria, official Syria, irrespective of who and which factions in the end, turn out to rule the country, is ready to take its seat on the Human Rights Council.  There are those who find this utterly deplorable, but they are basically rational and intelligent people.  There are many others who find this move by Syria and the inevitability, given the make-up of the United Nations and the Human Rights Council, completely acceptable.

After all, Syria would only be joining other members of the Human Rights Council who are themselves culpable in institutionalized human rights abuses, yet feel themselves compelled to act, as a rite of passage and duty to the United Nations, to sit in judgement of other nations.  Some of whom are indeed guilty of human rights abuses, but many who are not, but who deserve the judgement of the Council nonetheless, because the Council members are irked by them.

There is little neutral or just about the United Nations and its creature-councils.  Forget the extra-judicial killings and atrocities that both the Syrian military loyal to the regime and those who attack the government have indulged in.  And overlook as well, because it is utterly irrelevant, the dreadful acts of murder and torture conducted by the shabiha militia on behalf of the Alawite regime.

Russia, China and Cuba, all members of the Human Rights Council, and all supportive of the current government, will not hear of any criticism of the Syrian regime.  And that is the distorted sense of reality and just accountability in support and protection of human rights that the UN's Human Rights Council is concerned with.  It is a club for like-minded regimes.

"As part of the UN's 53-nation Asian group, Syria's candidacy would be virtually assured of victory due to the prevalent system of fixed slates, by which regional groups orchestrate uncontested elections by naming only as many candidates as allotted seats.  That's how non-democracies like China, Cuba, Russia and Saudi Arabia won their current seats, and how Pakistan and Venezuela are about to do the same." Hillel Neuer, UN Watch