We've persistently criticized the United Nation's appalling so-called "Human Rights" Council for years, and for good reason. Its composition and priorities are not merely worthless; they're a sick joke. The Trump administration was absolutely correct to pull the United States out of this corrupt, morally-bankrupt monstrosity, in my view -- and the Biden administration was wrong to reverse that decision, based on a progressive 'multilateralism' fetish. America should not lend an ounce of legitimacy to this group, the existence of which is an outright insult to actual human rights. Their belated booting of Russia -- which had long been a member in good standing, astoundingly -- doesn't change that calculus one bit, as abject disgraces like this make crystal clear:
The UN Human Rights Council rejected the motion to debate the Uyghur genocide 17-19. Shame. pic.twitter.com/uptqAvqY7y
— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) October 6, 2022
In a close diplomatic victory for China, the U.N.’s top human rights body on Thursday voted down a proposal from Britain, Turkey, the United States and other mostly Western countries to hold a debate on alleged rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in China’s western Xinjiang region. At the 47-member state Human Rights Council, 17 countries voted in favor, 19 were against, and 11 abstained in a vote to hold a debate on Xinjiang at its next session in March. The vote amounted to a test of political and diplomatic clout between the West and Beijing, and would have marked the first time that China’s record on human rights would merit a specific agenda item at the council. The result, prompting a smattering of applause in the chamber, followed days of diplomatic arm-twisting in Geneva and in many national capitals as leading Western countries tried to build momentum on a report from former U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet’s office, released Aug. 31, which found that possible “crimes against humanity” had occurred in Xinjiang.
Just look at the countries that voted with the CCP to formally cover-up an active genocide. These despotic, abusive nations -- Cuba, Venezuela, Pakistan, and others -- are on the Human Rights Council, as is China itself. That, as much as anything else, is a devastating indictment of the body. The majority vote against even probing the genocide, made possible by nearly a dozen craven abstentions, is just icing on the repulsive cake. The United Nations, and especially this particular offshoot, is irredeemable. I realize there's virtually no chance Team Biden will re-extricate the US from this twisted farce, especially since it would be validating a Trump decision, which they are willing to humiliate themselves and fail miserably in order to avoid. This is an administration, after all, that has intentionally handcuffed American energy production for political reasons, while begging authoritarians and thugs to pump oil elsewhere. But it would be the right thing to do. It's beyond broken. Get out. Don't dignify it with any continued US presence. Relatedly, the UN spends an insanely disproportionate amount of time condemning Israel, because the organization is riddled with anti-Semitism. Will we hear much from the 'anti-Zionist' 'human rights' crowd about this?
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This is awful https://t.co/Ptlg62R5MM
— Zak (@itzhakbendavid) October 6, 2022
A Palestinian man who fled the West Bank into Israel after his sexual orientation was revealed was kidnapped and brutally beheaded in Hebron, according to videos circulating on social media from early Thursday morning. Footage of the lifeless body of Ahmad Hacham Hamdi Abu Marakhia, 25 years old, being carried in the Palestinian city emerged late on Wednesday night...those close to Ahmad are certain he was killed due to his sexuality.
Broad silence from the social justice crowd. Deafening, as usual. I'll leave you with this:
An anonymous group of pro-democracy Chinese students at @GWtweets are calling for the school to protect them from the long arm of CCP transnational repression and stop investing in companies committing genocide against Uyghurs. https://t.co/8J6BOxgCvy
— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) October 4, 2022
Also, I almost forgot about this abomination at the "Human Rights" Council, beyond this genocide denialism, also at the hands of China and its beholden and/or depraved henchmen.
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