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Libyan envoy elected to chair HR Commission on secret ballot Geneva, 20 Jan (Chakravarthi Raghavan) - The UN Commission on Human Rights elected Monday by a vote (in a secret ballot) of 33 in favour, three opposed and 17 abstentions the Ambassador of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Ms. Najat Al-Hajjaji as chair of the Commission’s 59th session. Under a new procedure, the Commission meets two months in advance of the regular session to elect a chair and bureau. While normally elections are by consensus, with chairmanship by rotation to various regional groups and other groups generally bowing to the nomination of a regional group, this year the US had pressed for a vote. The Commission rules provide only for a secret ballot to be requested by a member seeking a vote (as the US did). The secret ballot precluded any public record of how any of the 53 members voted. If the US had sought a vote to show up Libya’s isolation, it ended up showing its own. Ms. Najat Al-Hajjaji was the choice of the African group and was nominated by South Africa as the group coordinator. She is personally held in esteem by her colleagues in the Geneva diplomatic corps. With the African nomination being thus challenged and pressed to a vote, there had been some speculation that in turn, the Western group’s choice for vice-chairman, Mike Smith of Australia would also be forced into a ballot. However, soon after election, in calling for nomination to the bureau and their election, Ms. Najat Al-Hajjaj appealed to her fellow African group members to elect everyone by consensus. As a result also elected by consensus as Vice-Chairs were Preasad Kariyawasam of Sri Lanka, Jorge Voto-Bernales of Peru and Mike Smith of Australia, and as Rapporteur, Branko Socanac of Croatia. The new procedures had been instituted to enable the Commission to work more efficiently by having the bureau in place well before the annual session, and in accord with the ECOSOC recommendations in 1994 and 1997. The Commission got into a lot of problems last year, when the bureau had first to be elected for it to decide on many things. One of them that became very controversial related to the bureau holding up the circulation of some reports of special rapporteurs on the situation in occupied Palestine. In a brief address before the vote, the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello said it was important for the Commission to demonstrate it could manage with wisdom, speed and restraint in procedural business and to create the best possible spirit and conditions for addressing and resolving the many substantive issues on the agenda. Vieira de Mello (from Brazil), succeeded Mrs. Mary Robinson, who had indicated to the UN Secretary-General her willingness for a new term, but because of the US opposition had taken herself out of the running. The outgoing Polish chair, Krzysztof Jakubowski, in his opening remarks said that with all its imperfections, the Commission was a “sort of human rights global parliament,” and its dignity had been and should remain the basis of its approach to work. In her speech, Ms. Najat Al-Hajjaji said that her country, Libya, was African, and had an Islamic culture. It had been the site of great historical empires - Egyptian, Phoenician and Greek, as well as Islamic. Monuments from the past remained. Women played a major role in life and Government in Libya, she underscored, and said the country took its inspiration from the principles of the United Nations. She would make every effort to be open to new ideas and initiatives. Among other things, the Commission must send a message that it would deal with the human rights of all countries, and not just some of them; that it would take account in its activities of the world’s many different religions, cultural and historical backgrounds; and that among its tasks was to affirm the universality, indivisibility and complementarity of human rights. This would give the Commission credibility, and send a clear message to all those who were watching the Commission and awaiting the results of its work. South Africa’s Sipho George Nene, who had proposed the name of Ms. Najat Al-Hajjaji for the chair, in a statement before the ballot (which the US had requested) said that the Commission and the African Group had been placed in a difficult and unenviable position. It was regrettable that the US delegation had opted for the extreme method of demonstrating its non-endorsement of the African Group’s candidate. The decision to propose Ms. Najat Al-Hajjaji’s name had been taken by the highest political organ of the African Union. The group hence had no choice but to respond to the political challenge posed by the subjection of the election to a vote. For 46 years, the tried and tested practice of the unanimous election of the Chair of the commission had contributed positively in setting a solid foundation for the proceedings of the Commission. This “reliable practice” had been violated today. But the African group hoped that this unfortunate act would not be emulated in the future.”The rights of regional groups to present candidates of their choice should be respected.” Great efforts had been made to persuade the US to use other available methods to express its displeasure. But these had failed. The African group urged members to demonstrate their confidence in the tried and tested methods of the past by voting for the African candidate with a resounding majority. After the election, the representatives of regional groups, Pakistan for the Organization of Islamic Conference, and India congratulated the chair. In a statement to the media after the vote, Amb Kevin Moley of the USA, expressed his country’s deep disappointment over Libya’s election, and explained that the US had asked for a vote to leave no doubt about its objection to Libya. – SUNS5266 [c] 2003, SUNS - All rights reserved. May not be reproduced, reprinted or posted to any system or service without specific permission from SUNS. This limitation includes incorporation into a database, distribution via Usenet News, bulletin board systems, mailing lists, print media or broadcast. For information about reproduction or multi-user subscriptions please contact: sunstwn@bluewin.ch
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