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FRIST INTRODUCES RESOLUTION OPPOSING U.S. PARTICIPATION IN U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) today made the following statement after introducing a Sense of the Senate resolution highlighting the shortcomings of the newly established United Nations Human Rights Council and opposing U.S. participation in, or support of, the council:

The newly created U.N. Human Rights Council fails to address the significant failures and shortcomings of the widely discredited U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Since its establishment in 1946, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights sacrificed efficacy and credibility by granting membership to some of the worlds worst human rights abusers, neglecting to condemn state sponsors of terrorism, and failing to act or speak out against numerous cases of egregious human rights abuse.
The new council makes only superficial changes to the former commission structure and falls far short of the standards envisioned by President Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The new council will not prevent serial human rights abusers from gaining membership and cannot be relied upon to monitor human rights abuses throughout the world.
I applaud the administration for opposing the creation of the new council and urge it to oppose U.S. participation in and support of the council in order to uphold Americas own credibility and deny the council unwarranted legitimacy.
If the U.N. refuses to make meaningful changes to the council structure, the U.S. should lead a group of like-minded democracies with a demonstrated commitment to the protection of human rights to create an effective and accountable human rights oversight body outside the U.N. system. The U.S. must adhere to its principles and continue to demonstrate its commitment to meaningful reform and to the protection of human rights.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/06_03_26_corner-archive.asp#093957