Global Policy Forum

By Edith M. Lederer

African nations have ensured that Sudan will keep its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, a decision that angered the United States and human rights advocates who cited reports of widespread rights abuses by the Khartoum government. A coalition of 10 organizations concerned with human rights issues went further Monday, complaining that too few democracies are being nominated for seats on the commission.

In elections Tuesday for 14 seats on the main U.N. human rights watchdog, the coalition said three out of four African seats will be filled by non-democratic regimes — Sudan, Guinea and Togo. In Asia, Vietnam and Pakistan, which both have questionable human rights records, are vying for seats and at least one will be elected, it said. Under U.N. rules, regional groups decide which countries are nominated to fill seats on U.N. bodies. The African group waited until late last week to present its list which contained four candidates for four seats — guaranteeing election for Kenya, Sudan, Guinea and Togo.

The United States scrambled to get another African nation to apply, to make it a contested race and hopefully unseat Sudan, but with so little time it was unsuccessful, U.N. diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "This last-minute announcement that Sudan will be unchallenged by another African country is extremely disappointing to all involved," said Richard Grenell, spokesman for U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte. "Sudan's human rights issues are well-known. We've been concerned for quite some time, and will continue to work to make progress at the Human Rights Commission and in other venues," he said.

In late April, the Human Rights Commission expressed concern about the situation in Sudan's western Darfur region but stopped short of formal condemnation of the government, which has been accused of backing militias that are destroying villages, executing civilians, raping women and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. "A government that engages in wholesale abuses of its citizens should not be eligible for a seat at the table, especially a country just criticized by the commission," said Joanna Weschler, U.N. representative for Human Rights Watch which is part of the coalition.

Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor said the Asian group also could have nominated better candidates, citing Vietnam's "violent crackdown against the country's indigenous Montagnard people" and "serious concerns" about the rights records of both Vietnam and Pakistan. The two countries are vying for three seats on the commission along with Malaysia and South Korea.

In recent years, Human Rights Watch has complained that the growing number of nations on the 53-member commission with poor human rights records have been sticking together to cover up abuses. Last year, the United States walked out of the U.N. Economic and Social Council to protest Cuba's re-election to the Human Rights Commission, which it called "an outrage." Russia, Saudi Arabia and several African countries with poor human rights records also won seats and Libya chaired the commission. In this year's election, Armenia, Romania, Ecuador and Mexico are assured seats because they face no opposition. But there is a contested race among Western nations with Canada, Finland, France and Spain vying for three seats.