HUMAN RIGHTS: UN Body Sets Rules on How to Move Against Top Rights Abusers
International Herald Tribune
Members of the new United Nations human rights watchdog body agreed in principle Tuesday to a compromise on how to investigate some of the world's worst rights offenders, sparing it from the potentially embarrassing prospect of failing to set its own rules. The Human Rights Council, which was formed last year to replace the UN Human Rights Commission, has faced widespread criticism from activists who say it is dominated by its large African, Arab and Asian blocs, and spends much of its time singling out Israel and fending off criticism of countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe. The council's members had negotiated for a year on setting the ground rules for how it will operate. But just as a compromise package appeared likely to be approved at a council meeting in Geneva late Monday, the deal was held up by China's last-minute attempt to raise the threshold for any resolution criticizing a country over its human rights record. China said approval by two-thirds of the council's 47 members should be required before a special investigation of alleged rights violations is begun.
http://www.hsrgroup.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=283
