Moneyweb (Johannesburg)
Tim Wood
24 January 2003
opinion
Johannesburg — South Africa's venal foreign policy was exposed again this week when its representative to the Human Rights Commission placed etiquette above morality. This is the final blow that will sink Nepad, Africa's supposed effort to recover its social, political and economic losses since decolonization.
SA ambassador Sipho George Nene wailed that the US had too publicly expressed its disgust with the nomination of Najat Al-Hajjaji of the "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" as Chairperson of the UNHRC. SA had proposed Libya on behalf of the African region.
Yes, Libya, the fiefdom of a sponsor of international terrorism who has ruled without fear of the ballot box since 1969. Apart from the absence of regular elections, the citizens of Libya also enjoy detention without trial, extra-judicial sentencing, torture, controlled speech and an oppressive state religion.
For Nene, it is no travesty that Colonel Moammar Gadhafi is a despot, only that the "reliable practice [of nominating chairmen] had been violated" by the US.
The terrible abuse was to force a secret ballot to elect Al-Hajjaji rather than going along with the routine rotation of the post.
It was astute diplomacy from the US, exposing the world's moral jellyfish and confirming that democracy UN style is a byword for tyranny. Out of 53 members, 33 voted for Libya, 3 against (US, Canada and, reportedly, Guatemala) while 17 abstained. The abstainers? Why, Europeans, of course.
If it's a case of bygones being bygones, perhaps we can look forward to P.W.
Botha making the shortlist to head SA's Human Rights Commission and then whitewashing himself? After all, Tripoli hailed Libya's ascension as a "shining victory" that proves it "has a clean sheet with regard to human rights."
Nene and Al-Hajjaji offered a foretaste of what we can expect from the UNHCR in its fifty third session. In Nene's case, we should simply suspend all judgement: "The right of regional groups to present candidates of their choice should be respected." One need not ponder how far Nene's respect stretches in the opposite direction.
Al-Hajjaji indicates a less than fabulous new foundation for the UNHCR. In future, human rights will still be "universal, indivisible and complementary", except that the UN will now take account of "different religious, cultural and historical backgrounds." Then, Al-Hajjaji reached deep within her intellect to complain about US and Canadian opposition to her appointment: "There are no good guys or bad guys when it comes to countries and human rights."
The contradictions could make for an entire semester in international law.
Alas, students would likely be disappointed at Al-Hajjaji's low-brow fodder.
Apparently human rights is an alien concept in unique countries like Libya and its 33 supporters. They should not be held to such arbitrary standards as free speech even as they lecture the US and Israel on them. Assuredly, this fifty third session will be about unprecedented human rights violations perpetrated by the US and Israel. Not a word about Zimbabwe, China, Iran, Cuba or North Korea in this session; unless they suffer some rebuke from the US.
Al-Hajjaji also confirmed that she will promote efforts to lower human rights standards in order to be more inclusive. As long as you're a third world country, you can safely torture dissidents and still achieve membership of the UNHCR. What won't the UN do in the name of diversity?
It is no secret that Libya bought its seat, primarily by acting as a cash dispensing machine for fellow bellwether societies like Zimbabwe and Sudan.
That SA, the ANC government more specifically, would go along with this fraud is a betrayal of everything it appealed to in challenging Apartheid. Would Nene, in retrospective vein, suggest Nelson Mandela was a little too defiant at the Rivonia Trial? Perhaps a little more respect should have been afforded the National Party?
Who knows. What we do know is that there is no tyrant beyond the pale for SA.
There are none who are not warmly embraced at Tuynhuys or invited to speak in parliament to rapturous ovations. Nepad is dead, long live Nepad.
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