[governance] HRW, the UN and "big governments" -- cowardice regarding HR?

[Carlos A. Afonso]

>From BBC News Europe. Sorry for possible cross-postings.

fraternal regards

--c.a.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12272800

25 January 2011 Last updated at 03:19 GMT

UN defends Ban Ki-moon against rights 'cowardice' claim
HRW said Mr Ban placed "undue faith" in his persuasion skills

The UN has defended its Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over accusations
that he has failed to speak out over human rights issues.

Mr Ban has been singled out for harsh criticism by Human Rights Watch in
its annual report.

The group said he had been "notably reluctant to put pressure on abusive
governments".

Mr Ban's office denied this, saying he used both quiet diplomacy and
public pressure to promote human rights.

But HRW says it wants its annual report to draw attention to "the
failure of the expected champions of human rights" to defend those
rights and stand up to abusive governments.

While there is "nothing inherently wrong with dialogue and cooperation
to promote human rights", the group says, there was a danger that it
could become "a charade designed more to appease critics of complacency
than to secure change".

"Whether out of calculation or cowardice, many [UN Security] Council
members promote dialogue and cooperation as a universal prescription
without regard to whether a government has the political will to curtail
its abusive behavior."

The BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN says Mr Ban's style has been more
discreet than that of his predecessor Kofi Annan. He has often often
opted to work behind the scenes to pressure governments on human rights
issues.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

    The record shows he has achieved results through both quiet
diplomacy and public pressure”

End Quote Farhan Haq Spokesman for Ban Ki-moon

But HRW says Mr Ban's "disinclination to speak out about serious human
rights violators means he is often choosing to fight with one hand tied
behind his back".

It says that while Mr Ban has made strong comments on human rights when
visiting, for example, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, he has failed to do
so with Chinese officials.
'Infatuated'

HRW also says Mr Ban appeared to have "placed undue faith in his
professed ability to convince by private persuasion", citing his
discussions with leaders including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir,
Burma's military leader Than Shwe and Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa.

Mr Ban's spokesman Farhan Haq defended the secretary general's record,
saying he did speak publicly about human rights when he visited some of
those countries named by HRW.

"In each case he makes a strategic decision on the most effective to way
to secure respect for HR [human rights] and accountability," said Mr Haq.

"The record shows he has achieved results through both quiet diplomacy
and public pressure."

Mr Haq cited the freeing of a jailed gay couple in Malawi as one example
where quiet diplomacy had proved successful.

The EU also comes under fire in the report - HRW says it has "become
particularly infatuated with the idea of dialogue and cooperation" and
criticises foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton, "for repeatedly
expressing a preference for 'quiet diplomacy' regardless of the
circumstances".

Meanwhile US President Barack Obama is accused of lacking his "famed
eloquence" when defending human rights in bilateral contexts with China,
India and Indonesia, and of failing to ensure other areas of US
government "convey strong human rights messages consistently".

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