The Bush Administration has proffered it’s holiday gift to the world. So what is it?
The Human Rights Council Working Group of the United Nations has been working on some items to be included in Resolution form to be adopted.
Among these items are:
A right to food. The UN General Assembly adopted language that basically says it would ‘consider it intolerable’ that more than 6 million children worldwide will die each year from hunger and hunger-related illnesses before their fifth birthday. They also noted that the number of undernourished people has grown to about 923 million people worldwide. At the same time – it is estimated that the planet can produce enough food to feed 12 billion people – approximately double what the current population is.
Another part of this resolution addressed the inequalities in available food and other basics between girls and women and their male counterparts. The resolution calls on member states to take affirmative steps to address these issues of gender inequality and discrimination against women and girls by implementing measures to give equal access to land, water, and income so they can feed themselves and their families.
So…the vote on the right to food was 180 to 1. That’s right. Every country in the world voted for it except one. Any guesses who that is? Yep. The United States of America.
Apparently Bush and Company think it’s perfectly okay for 6 million kids to starve to death every year. They are more interested in spending money on weapons and ridiculous wars. The unnamed US representative told the council that
"the attainment of the right to adequate food was a goal that should be realized progressively. In his view, the draft contained inaccurate textual descriptions of underlying rights."
Oh yeah. That is really helpful.
The United States was also the only vote against a resolution for the rights of children.
This Committee also had a number of other interesting proposals, including the use of mercenaries, investigations of deaths under an occupation, international court items and others. The US voted against every single one. They were joined by other countries on most of these others, but the countries are ones like the Congo and Somalia. Good company we’re keeping.
So – Bush has thumbed his nose at the world one more time. January 20 cannot come soon enough for me, for this country, and indeed for people everywhere.
To read the working document, go here: Human Rights Council Working Group
Cross-posted at And The Question Is…
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http://www.un.org/News/Press/d…..41.doc.htm
Link to Working Group document doesn’t work above – here it is again.
Sorry!
Thank you for this LokyW!
America says it is a Christian nation? Where are the religious wing nuts? Why are none of them speaking out instead of silently condoning this? Maybe because they get paid too much money to have morals? The year of the illegal invasion/occupation of Iraq, 2003. See how much money these so called faith based groups got. A whole lot of food could have been bought with this money, but it bought a war, instead. Some of the faith based groups are not faith based groups at all. This raid of taxpayer money is ongoing.
Warren is there speaking out against this. Right? Right? Yeah, I am a bit of a cynic, but with valid justifications.
http://www.thememoryhole.org/p….._page2.htm
The Diaphanous Faces of Ghosts Demanding Justice
This is the title of an article at freegaza written by Vittorio Arrigoni. He and his fellow members of ISM, are the only media who did not leave Gaza when the borders were opened for foreigners to leave.
He mentioned at the end the true reason for the invasion of Gaza. The tanks are mowing down the Palestinian homes in NW Gaza. The people are escaping with little or nothing.
Rev. Wright was right…God damn America.
http://www.freegaza.org/index……38;offset=
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I…..y_Movement
Hi BB, yes, our so-called Christian nation has stood by and allows the starvation and deprivation of most people in the third world. The right-wing (including all these self-proclaimed ‘correct’ Christians) has had a policy for years of entitlement – they are the only ones who deserve anything and the fact that they have it and can get more is just evidence that they are doing God’s work. What a misreading of scripture that is. Jack Clark of the Rational Radical says that right wing policies are primarily geared towards increasing human misery and suffering, pain and death.
About the Gaza thing – invasions and crap like this are never about what they say they are, as we well know. They are blaming the rockets – but it never was about the rockets. It was and is, about resources (water and now the gas), land, and just getting rid of the Palestinians period.
Wow. Just wow.
This is the penultimate in American exceptionalism.
more shoes.
the Canadian-born former Supreme Court Justice recent UN UN High Commissioner for Human Rights the Hon. Mme. Louise Arbour has elected not to even offer to stay for another term … apparently she has been through hell trying to champion Human Rights at the UN. The Americans hate her. I heard a lengthy interview and she sounded to me like someone who had been traumatized at her workplace: she won’t even really speak about it. I have not doubt that dolt bastard Bolton gave her a great deal of grief in order to try and keep her quiet.
If Obama does not ”extend” his remarks comparing his own children to Israeli children and make the equal comparison to Palestinian children (in some way that is not incendiary … I’ll give him that, I guess) I will give up. He may well do so. I think he would be intellectually inconsistent not to do so.
The Israelis didn’t like her:
Anti-Semite of the Week: Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Israel, Arbour told the Jerusalem Post, could be considered deserving of more blame for its actions in the Lebanon war than Hizbullah.
Yes, it’s true, Arbour argues that Israel is the true villain of the 34-day Hizbullah-Israeli conflict earlier this year.
http://antisemiteoftheweek.org…..ights.aspx
The US didn’t like her:
June 23, 2006 at 6:30 AM EST
GENEVA —
“It is vital that at all times governments anchor in law their response to terrorism,” said Louise Arbour, UN high commissioner for human rights, in her speech to the new UN Human Rights Council, clearly referring to allegations of U.S. abuses.
Ms. Arbour said “the reported existence of secret detention centres where suspects are held incommunicado is … of grave concern.”
“Such practises also have a corrosive effect on the rule of law and human rights, and create an environment ripe for other abusive conduct,” she added.
She said the magnitude of the threat from terrorist organizations had raised the question of whether the existing legal framework must yield to the new reality, but governments must continue to abide by international law, which includes an absolute ban on torture and the right to a fair trial.
“To disregard the law or to carve out improper exceptions, as has been attempted by many governments, would lead to a steady erosion of fundamental rights and, ultimately, undermine the legitimacy of government action itself,” she said.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com…..ional/home