A number of NGOs have been making criticisms of the UN Human Rights Council for a recent resolution passed there concerning free speech. According to this report, the criticisms are quite forthright.
Instead of defending human rights around the world, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said, the U.N. body was focusing on limiting criticism of state and religious interests.Stronger still:
And the India and Britain-based International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) said the Council "stands exposed as no longer capable of fulfilling its central role: the promotion and protection of human rights." [Emphasis added]Again:
Amnesty International said the resolution, which passed by a majority vote, showed "troubling signs that the Council is moving away from its mandate to promote human rights in the direction of policing the exercise of human rights."There are some - of a waggish disposition - who allege that if you criticize the UN (or any other body with an honoured place in the Book of Good Institutions) this must mean that you're against it. The thing to do with allegations of this kind is to laugh at them. As it has been said before, that Human Rights Council is in need of reform.
