Indonesia wins seat on world human rights commission<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been elected for the second time to the United
\nNations High Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR) amid growing
\nconcerns at the increasing number of nations with poor human
\nrights records on the 53-member commission.<\/p>\n
Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said on
\nWednesday that the election proved the country's democratic
\ncredentials in the international community.<\/p>\n
\"We appreciate the election and we consider it reconfirmation
\nof our democratic credentials and a valuable asset in our
\ndiplomacy,\" Marty told The Jakarta Post by phone from Denpasar,
\nthe capital of Bali.<\/p>\n
The election took place during the UN Economic and Social
\nCommission (ECOSOC) session at UN headquarters in New York. The
\nelected members will begin their three-year terms in January
\n2004.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's permanent representative in Geneva, Switzerland,
\nNugroho Wisnumurti will fill the seat on the commission.<\/p>\n
The country previously won membership for the 1999\/2001
\nperiod.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's military has been in the international spotlight
\nin recent years for, among other things, gross human rights
\nviolations during its occupancy of East Timor. Only two of 15
\nofficers put on trial for abuses around East Timor's 1999 vote
\nfor independence have been convicted so far, to the dismay of
\nrights champions.<\/p>\n
During a recent session of the commission, the East Timor
\nissue was removed from its agenda following a meeting between
\nIndonesian and East Timorese officials and commission members.<\/p>\n
\"In the past few weeks we phased out the East Timor issue and
\nwon membership on the commission. It is an achievement for our
\nnew democratic country,\" Marty said.<\/p>\n
Joining Indonesia are India, Bhutan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and
\nQatar. The five countries elected on the first ballot, while
\nIndonesia defeated Iran 31-23 for the sixth seat on a second
\nballot.<\/p>\n
Before the vote, North Korea, Cambodia and Vietnam -- three
\nother Asian countries with bad human rights records -- withdrew
\ntheir candidacies.<\/p>\n
Under UN rules, regional groups decide who fills seats on UN
\nbodies.<\/p>\n
Latin America only chose Cuba, Costa Rica, the Dominican
\nRepublic, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru for six open seats, so no
\nvote was needed.<\/p>\n
Russia was also reelected to another term with no opposition.
\nSeveral African countries with poor human rights records also won
\nseats.<\/p>\n
The commission is chaired by Libya, another African country
\nwith what Human Rights Watch calls \"a dreadful human rights
\nrecord.\"<\/p>\n
Britain, Italy and the Netherlands defeated Portugal in a
\ncontested race among Western nations.<\/p>\n
Other countries elected uncontested were Congo, Egypt,
\nEritrea, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mauritania, South Africa and Hungary.<\/p>\n
The United States walked out of the UN meeting to protest
\nCuba's reelection to the rights commission, calling it \"an
\noutrage\" that undermined the group's credibility.<\/p>\n
\"Having Cuba serve again on the Human Rights Commission is
\nlike putting Al Capone in charge of bank security,\" said White
\nHouse spokesman Ari Fleischer, as quoted by AP.<\/p>\n
Cuba's uncontested election came just weeks after Fidel
\nCastro's government sent 78 independent journalists, librarians
\nand opposition leaders to prison for lengthy terms and executed
\nthree alleged hijackers for trying to get to the United States.<\/p>\n
\"It was an outrage for us because we view Cuba as the worst
\nviolator of human rights in this hemisphere,\" said Sichan Siv,
\nthe U.S. ambassador to ECOSOC, which elected 24 new members to
\nthe U.N. body charged with investigating rights abuses. \"That's
\nwhy we decided to walk out.\"<\/p>\n
Cuba celebrated the victory Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"They won't be able to force us out,\" said Jose Antonio
\nFernandez, the head the Cuban delegation said.<\/p>",
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