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Sudan Said Will Keep Seat on UN Commission

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  • Sudan Said Will Keep Seat on UN Commission

    Sudan Said Will Keep Seat on UN Commission

    By EDITH M. LEDERER
    .c The Associated Press

    UNITED NATIONS (AP) - 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.



    05/04/04 03:33 EDT
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