The Final Straw

front page magazine ^ | 06 march 2006 | Robert T. McLean

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If the uninspiring record of the United Nations Human Rights Commission was not already enough, two more instances have proven the body beyond repair. On February 14 the commission issued a report calling for the closure of the detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay. This comes on the heals of the long overdue effort to pass genuine reform on the troubled organization. However, any hope for reform was dashed with the demand by the Organization of the Islamic Conference that all efforts must include amendments outlawing blasphemy. If the Human Rights Commission cannot get it right when it is under unprecedented scrutiny, how will it ever become a responsible and functional body?

The greatest flaw of the of the report on Guantanamo Bay was that it was premised on a fundamental disagreement with the United States over whether the United States is currently engaged in an armed conflict. With the UN Commission on Human Rights maintaining that the United States is at a state of peace, it refuses recognize the burdens placed on the United States in leading the War on Terror. Without this basic understanding, the commission’s assertions appear futile.