Among the Intellectualoids
Declaring Human Rights
The organization claims to believe in freedom, but don't expect the United Nations to actually do anything about it.
(Page 3 of 3)
DESPITE ITS SOARING rhetoric, the UN does little to improve human rights around the world. Those who are more interested in improving human rights than in posturing should look for new approaches.
One possibility would be to more directly engage democratic members of the Human Rights Council, like India, Indonesia, and South Africa, which now often side with the oppressors. Another strategy would be to refuse to fund the Council.
Improved cooperation among democratic states in pressing human rights initiatives also would be a valuable step. Allied states could challenge the membership qualifications of serial human rights abusers in the UN itself. And Western states could create an entirely new organization, either as a substitute or supplement to the UN.
The failure of the UN to live up to its original billing is particularly tragic for those around the world who are oppressed by their governments. Some fairly nasty regimes now sit as full members of the UN and hold leadership positions there that enable them to thwart international condemnation.
Citizens in free and democratic states have an obligation to respond.
About the Author
Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author and editor of several books, including The Politics of Plunder: Misgovernment in Washington (Transaction).
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