U.N. panel takes U.S. to task over Katrina

AP ^ | 7/28/06 | BRADLEY S. KLAPPER,

[SF Republican]

The United States must better protect poor people and African-Americans in natural disasters to avoid problems like those after Hurricane Katrina, a U.N. human rights panel said Friday.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee said poor and black Americans were "disadvantaged" after Katrina, and the U.S. should work harder to ensure that their rights "are fully taken into consideration in the reconstruction plans with regard to access to housing, education and health care."

The United States said federal and Louisiana state authorities were examining many of the issues raised by the committee.

The U.N. panel said it wants to be informed of the results of inquiries into the alleged failure to evacuate inmates from a prison, and into allegations that authorities did not allow New Orleans residents to cross a bridge into Gretna, La.

It offered no further specifics about problems it found with the Katrina response, or possible solutions.

"I think the president and everyone in the United States said that Katrina was something that no one was entirely prepared for and it did raise huge challenges for the United States," said Robert Harris, of the office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. State Department. "We're looking at a large list of lessons from Katrina and trying to make sure that the next time, God forbid something like that happens, we are better prepared."

The panel of 18 independent experts, which reviews the practices of the 156 countries who have ratified the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said it was concerned about information that blacks and poor people "were disadvantaged by the rescue and evacuation plans implemented when Hurricane Katrina hit."

Criticism by the panel brings no penalties beyond international scrutiny.

The Katrina findings comprised two paragraphs in a 12-page release of findings that also included recommendations on U.S. policies in the war on terror.

The U.S. mission to the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva criticized the committee's examination of many issues it said were outside the scope of its mandate, particularly dealing with the war on terrorism.

But on domestic issues, it said "the committee has made recommendations in matters under its competence, including efforts to address race and sex discrimination, capital punishment, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and voting rights."

The committee also addressed reports of de facto racial segregation in public schools.

[Txsleuth]

Let's see, Darfur, Rwanda..talk about how YOU treat poor black people, UN!!!

[Txsleuth]

PING

[NRA2BFree]

I'm thinking of a very bad word that I can't say, but it tells the UN what they can do with this report. Use your own imagination. LOL

[ANGGAPO]

Of all of the people in the world the UN has the oo to criticize the United States about Katrina. How much money did they contribute to help?

[tiredoflaundry]

Oh cripes........

[Integrityrocks]

"U.N. Human Rights Committee"

OXYMORON

[TChris]

Hey, UN - figure out what to do with Darfur and get back to us. Until then, put your tall building in New York to good use and take a flying leap off of it.

* chuckle *

Well put.

[Obadiah]

Brace yourself before reading.

No kidding!! The unmitigated nerve of the bungling, bureaucratic nincompoops!

[Txsleuth]

All this is really going to do..is give the DEMS more campaign fodder...blech

[rollo tomasi]

Does the UN realize that the United States has federal and State Constitutions that limits actions by the Federal government (For damned good reasons) to go into cities without a set of proper "invitations" by governors, mayors etc. first?

Also does the UN realize that State local officials failed to act on their own local evacuation orders? Also mishandled funds to upgrade levies etc.

[prairiebreeze]

Quite laughable considering their feckless response to the tsunami. Just one example of many many others.

The UN is unable to organize a church ice cream social. They are insignificant and can only come out with these ludicrous positions and directives in order to try to portray they have relevance in the world.

They fail time and time again. Just like now.

Anyway, if they want to crab at somebody about Katrina they ought to single out Nagin and Blanco. Of course, they won't....

[polarbear6]

if we had just killed them in a genocide the UN would be on the hook for not reacting. next time, don't send fema, send death squads.

[proud_yank]

Bears repeating.

Short answer: no.

[processing please hold]

They fail time and time again. Just like now.

But they still exist.

[proud_yank]

I hope they go the way of the League of Nations, and soon.

[theDentist]

Dear U.N. Human Rights Committee

Go **** Yourself.

[flynmudd]

I thought the exact same thing. Great minds think alike.

[M1Tanker]

Hmmm... let's see... criticism from the UN... Let's see how the UN did in crises.

1. Protecting South Korea from North Korea in the late 1940s-1950. Nope.. failed there. Bailed out by the US and Britain

2. Suez Crisis. Nope failed there too.

3. 6-Day and 8-Day wars. Again, failure

4. Whole Middle-East "Peace Process". Resounding failure (Hamas, Hizbollah, Iran, Syria, and Saddam will disagree with me, but that just makes my point)

5. Lebanese Civil War.... Ummm, not even close

6. Former Yugoslavia (1992 and Kosovo/Albania 1999). Exceptional failiure outdone by few other failures.

7. Rwanda. This is the failure that outdid Yugoslavia by 250%. And isn't Rwanda in Africa? Does the UN not care at all about Africa? From their current and past performance, I'd have to say NO.

8. Somalia. Nope, and this failure is still breeding trouble today.

9. Sudan. Well, the UN did prove the only leader who is interested in halting the worldwide slave trade is President Bush. Everyone else is markedly silent. Leftists?? UN?? African nations?? EU??? Hellooooo!!!??? Hmm, all the ones who call the President a racist and whatever else are silent here..... Just as they are silent on fighting for our lives against the clear and present danger of Islamic Terrorism. I see a pattern.

10. Oil for Food and the arms embargo against Iraq. What a joke. We destroyed 3000 tanks (90% of Iraq's total) in the Gulf War and then had to destroy thousands more tanks in Iraq in OIF!!! Hey leftists and UN, just WHERE did Saddam get these???!!!???? Paging Bill Clinton for an ANSWER!

11. UN Peacekeepers actually protecting those who are poor and suffering. Absolutely not!!! That is, unless you think "protecting" includes extorting, enslaving, raping, and killing.

Well, maybe the UN does better in Natural Disasters.

1. UNICEF, UNHCR, and other UN groups. Unaccountable, wasteful, and no lasting (longer than the story is page 1 news) successes I know of.

2. Relief for famine in Africa. Failed miserably several times over.

3. Fighting AIDS. President Bush has put more money into research here than anyone else. And AIDS is a disease that is devastating Africa. UN...UN.. leftists??? Hellooo? Why are there not shouts of glee??!! Oh, that's right. The President gave no U.S. Tax dollars to treat BDS.

4. Indonesia Tsunami relief. Well... only after a few weeks and then it was next to nothing. Who responded?? The US did and even sent a Carrier and one of our two very expensive hospital ships. To be fair, other NATO countries sent help too and this help alone far surpassed the UN supervised aid. Oh, and UN/Left, we had US Marines on the ground in N.O. after the hurricane within a day (the navy.mil website had story after story which the media dutifully ignored).

I could go on like the Energizer Bunny, but I think I made my point clear enough that even a DU "useful idiot" can follow. Well, that might be pushing it.

The bottom line is the UN fails time after time after time. The U.S. moves with speed no other country can dream of, and we did in Katrina. We moved with great speed even though efforts were being sabotaged by the Gov of LA and the Mayor of N.O. who were more interested in attacking the President than taking care of their people.

To me that is just another example of where the left's priorities are, and why I will never support a leftist.

[samadams2000]

Bush should pull us out from the U.N, defund ,and give New Yorkers their parking spaces back. Give them 6 months to find another home.

[processing please hold]

To me that is just another example of where the left's priorities are, and why I will never support a leftist.

We are supporting the un whether we want to or not by our tax dollars. How long would the un stand if we never gave them another penny? They will exist as long as we support them.