Readers of the FPA blog network have assuredly noticed an exchange of opinions between fellow blogger Rob Grace and I. In a very well thought-out critique of my previous post that the United Nations is anti-Israel, Rob contends that I “misread” the true nature of that global body, which he says is actually pro-Israel. His article is most certainly worth a read and I urge readers to chime in with their thoughts.
But, as I can’t resist, here’s a few additional thoughts from me.
Rob makes a fantastic point that the most powerful body in the United Nations is the Security Council. Because the United States has and uses its veto power, any truly anti-Israel positions are avoided. The permanent members (P-5) are: China, France, the U.K. Russia and the United States. The rotating members are: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey and Uganda. Several countries on this list have dismal human rights records (ie. China) and should be investigated by the. U.N. for their own crimes against humanity. Further, several of these countries have undermined efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear program (China, Russia) and are in fact somewhat allied with the Ahmadinejad regime. Brazil’s Lula de Silva has made no qualms on his affinity for Iran and Turkey, just within the last couple days, declared Iran its ally and Israel its only threat. Not to mention Hezbollah-lade Lebanon.
Countries with deep-rooted human rights-violating cultures (China, Russia) should not have the same input as the United States, which is the world’s leader in fighting for freedom. The United Nations’ Security Council should take a stand against human rights, but it should do so against the most flagrant violators, an action it cannot undertake as long as some P-5 countries continue to oppress rights within their own borders.
Rob also contends that the Goldstone Report on Operation Cast Lead was not anti-Israel and also discussed Hamas human rights violations. He’s right, it did, but it did so in a very one-sided manner that I described in this past post. The report, which was intended to document human rights violations during the operation, spent several chapters discussing how it views Israeli policy overall as violating Palestinian human rights, citing Israeli actions in the West Bank, which had no direct connection to Cast Lead in Gaza. The bulk of the report also focuses on alleged Israeli human rights violations, not on Hamas’ blatant disregard for freedoms. Hamas is regularly arresting and murdering dissenters and intimidating the press. As I’ve written before, Israel has intimidated the press, but to a far less extreme. Further, Israel does not jail or murder dissenters, some of which actually serve in the Knesset. The Goldstone Report, while mentioning Hamas human rights violations, focuses to a far greater extent on Israeli actions, which are much less egregious than those committed by Hamas, a terror group that regularly attempts to kill civilians and has a charter dedicated to genocide. Those Hamas actions, such as the group’s years-long bombardment of southern Israel with rockets, gets far less scrutiny in the report than alleged Israeli human rights violations in Gaza.
The United Nations as a whole — including its sub-components and activities — clearly focuses an inordinate amount of attention on Israeli human rights violations while setting up several sub-components dedicated to the Palestinian cause. There are far more countries with blatant human rights violations, and some of those countries are either among or supported by P-5 members. Israeli policies most certainly deserve scrutiny, but the U.N.’s interest should be proportional to the violations committed. This U.N. obsession with Israel is indicative that the organization’s foundation — which equates China with the United States — is deeply flawed. Many countries in the United Nations, including those with substantial power, are regularly undermining U.S./European foreign policy goals and committing far worse human rights violations than Israel. Instead of focusing on those countries, the global press and United Nations instead target Israel, as clearly shown during the terrorist-laden Gaza-bound flotilla incident earlier this year.
According to U.N. Watch:
“An alien observing the United Nations’ debates, reading its resolutions, and walking its halls could well conclude that a principal purpose of the world body is to censure a tiny country called Israel. … The countless anti-Israel resolutions and related debates consume an astonishing proportion of the UN community’s precious resources. This year, during the 61th Session of the General Assembly (2006-2007), the time spent by ambassadors on enacting the 22nd anti-Israel resolution of the year was time not spent on passing a single resolution on Sudan’s genocide in Darfur.”
I welcome U.N attention to any human rights violations, including those committed by Israel. But this preoccupation, this anti-Israel obsession is indicative of a deep-rooted bias that cannot be ignored or downplayed.
