UN Human Rights Fluff
Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote a fluff piece today about the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It could be summed up as: there are still a lot of human rights violations out there and, yea for me, I care.
She’s a committed UN supporter but says nothing about the UN’s lack of seriousness about human rights. How can we take the UN seriously when it repeatedly appoints countries with appalling human rights records to its Human Rights Commission? China, Cuba, Sudan and other human rights exemplars all served on the commission.
The fact is that the UN is a fundamentally and fatally flawed institution. First, any country, no matter how oppressive is a member as long as they are diplomatically recognized. Taiwan, of course, is not allowed in because it would hurt oppressive China’s feelings. Second, and I think this is too often ignored, the UN is not an organization that represents the people of the world - it represents the governments of the world. That makes all the difference.
As for human rights, the best guarantors human rights are freedom and democracy. The UN is at best lukewarm here. Given the large number of tyrannical members, this is not surprising. Can you see China allowing the UN to promote democracy? Right.
But not only does the UN not do anything to promote freedom, it often actively undercuts freedom. The UN Treaty on Small Arms, promoted by George Soros funded IANSA, is an effort to strip all civilians throughout the world of the right to own a firearm. It has been stated many times that the right to self-defense is the most basic of human rights. What good is freedom of speech or freedom of religion if a government sponsored thug or a common criminal can kill or terrorize you with a gun that you can’t have?
It’s time for supporters of human rights to wake up - the UN is no friend.