UN Watch Welcomes Clarification by UN Rights Chief on Arab Charter

Lousie Arbour responds to global complaints about her lack of moral clarity. Via UN Watch:

UN Watch welcomed the new clarification issued today by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, in response to its Jan. 28, 2008 letter protesting her endorsement of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which contains anti-Semitic provisions.

“Last week the High Commissioner endorsed the Arab Charter, but today she has shown courage in criticizing its ‘incompatibility… with international norms and standards,’ and that’s a step forward,” said Hillel Neuer, UN Watch executive director. “We welcome Ms. Arbour’s recognition today that the Arab Charter includes ‘inconsistencies’ in regard to its approach to the death penalty for children, the rights of women and non-citizens, and anti-Zionism.”

“At the same time, we await a response to our demand that the UN official who advised the High Commissioner to sign the initial January 24 announcement be held fully accountable,” said Neuer. “We are talking about someone who recommended the endorsing of a charter that promotes classically anti-Semitic themes, describing Zionism, the Jewish national liberation movement, as uniquely evil, and advocating its ‘elimination.’ We trust that the High Commissioner — whose mandate centers on the notion of individual responsibility and accountability, and who opposes the culture of impunity — will lead by example and ask the responsible adviser to draw the necessary conclusions.”

“This latest episode only underscores the kind of dangers that are up ahead. With Ms. Arbour serving as secretary-general of the Durban Review process — ostensibly UN meetings to combat racism, but which is chaired by Libya with the help of Iran and Cuba — we trust that she will immediately and forcefully oppose any similar efforts to hijack the language and idea of human rights for anti-Zionism or to denigrate Western democracies,” said Neuer.

http://www.unwatch.org/

For background on Louise Arbour, click here.

Who is Louise Arbour?

Louise Arbour is the current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. According to Wikipedia, in July, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Louise Arbour stated that "those in positions of command and control" could be subject to "personal criminal responsibility" for their actions in the conflict.

According to the Weekly Standard, and I am in agreement with their analysis, her talk about "proportionality" and anyone else who frames Israel's defense of her own border with that predjudice, actually means "they don't like Israel."

Louise Arbour was impugning Israel but Israel doesn't target civilian concentrations. Clearly, Louise Arbour doesn't get it.

Israel Unity Coalition, a Christian and Jewish alliance, is now informing us about the blatant anti-Semitism in the new Arab charter on human rights. This document was endorsed by Louise Arbour on January 24th in a statement in which she welcomed it's ratification by saying it is, "an important step forward" in strengthening the enjoyment of human rights in the Arab world.

The Arab Charter is in fact just the opposite by equating Zionism with Racism.

Why?

UN Watch stated that the newly ratified Arab League document "contains several provisions that promote classically anti-Semitic themes."

UN Watch monitors the UN's compliance with its charter and is associated with the American Jewish Committee. Their letter pointed to troubling sentences in the Arab Charter, one

"rejecting all forms of racism and Zionism, which constitute a violation of human rights and a threat to international peace and security."

Another sentence says,

"all forms of racism, Zionism and foreign occupation and domination constitute an impediment to human dignity. . .all such practices must be condemned and efforts must be deployed for their elimination."

According to Israel Unity Coalition, the Arab league originally adopted the Arab charter in 1994 but it was never enforced as it was not ratified by the required number of 7 member states.

The Arab states that just ratified this charter are:
the United Arab Emirates,
Jordan,
Bahrain,
Algeria,
Syria,
Libya,
and the Palestinian Authority.

These indictments of Zionism by the Arab Charter on Human Rights are an unacceptable distortion of the true mission of Zionism which is:

"the movement for Jewish self-determination that asserts the inherent and internationally-acknowledged right of Israel to exist."

The letter from UN Watch said

"A text that equates Zionism with racism, describes it as a threat to world peace, as an enemy of human rights and human dignity, and then urges its elimination, is blatantly anti-Semitic. Even if the Arab Charter may contain other, constructive provisions, nothing can justify any endorsement of a text with such hateful language."

Anyone with any moral clarity would hope that Louise Arbor's office would issue a strongly worded retraction and that the responsible person in her office would be identified and held fully accountable for this blatant acceptance of misinformation.