The UN Human Rights Charade

Unless something intervenes to stop it, Syria is about to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. It’s not necessary to belabor the absurdity of such a development, or the moral vacuity of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s refusal to discourage Syria’s election: “It’s a matter for the states,” he says. American opposition is likely but, on this matter, we have no veto. So here’s a suggestion: The U.S. should declare that if Syria is elected, the U.S. will resign its seat on the Council. Maybe the prospect of our refusal to continue in the monumental hypocrisy of a U.N. panel that routinely defends the worst abusers of human rights (many of which have become members precisely for that purpose), will sway enough votes to block Syria’s election. And if it doesn’t–well, we should never have joined the Council in the first place.