It is VERY conceivable, look at their membership. The U.S. was OFF the commission in 2002. With Libya voted in by a block of African nations (where they go for loans) as chair of this commission, how does the U.N. have any purpose? It's a distraction and deterrent to progress and peace.
Aligned with Castro and Gaddafi - Mugabe Vows to Defend Zimbabwe from Western 'Bullies'***"Our sovereignty is constantly under attack from the bullying states ... which seek to use their political and economic prowess to achieve global hegemony," Mugabe said. At 78, Mugabe is a left-winger who counts Cuba's Fidel Castro and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi among his foreign allies.
Monday, the European Union extended a blacklist of Zimbabwean officials subjected to a visa ban and asset freeze. The move is aimed at piling more pressure on the country whose human rights record it says has deteriorated since Mugabe's re-election in March. The EU imposed so-called "smart sanctions" against Mugabe's government in February ahead of the poll he won amid widespread allegations of election malpractice.*** Libya wins Central African resource deal*** The Central African Republic (CAR) has signed a 99-year treaty giving Libya the right to exploit its oil, uranium and other mineral resources. CAR mines minister Andre Nalke Dorogo told Reuters that the deal was signed in June and covered all mineral resources. "It's a normal accord between one sovereign country and another. The agreement concerns all resources, notably diamonds, gold, copper, iron and - if possible - oil," Mr Dorogo said. "It covers the entire country," he added.***
Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba resuming in August - Libya studying Cuba's oil refinery*** Rodriguez added that Cuba and Venezuela had studied the possibility of modernizing Cuba's Cienfuegos refinery but decided the project isn't feasible. He said OPEC member Libya is conducting a similar study and that Venezuela is sharing information on Cienfuegos with Libya.***
Group Faults Libya's Nomination to Head U.N. Commission on Human RightsUNITED NATIONS, Aug 8 (IPS) - A leading human rights organization has appealed to African nations to reverse their decision to nominate Libya as the next chairman of the Geneva-based U.N. Commission on Human Rights. "Countries with dreadful rights records should never be in charge of chairing the Commission on Human Rights," Rory Mungoven, global advocacy director for New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said Thursday. "Libya's long record of human rights abuses clearly does not merit such a reward," he added.
But a spokesman for the Libyan Mission to the United Nations refuted the charges made by HRW. "They are entitled to their opinion," he told IPS. "Ours is an open society. We have nothing to hide and we are not in violation of human rights," he added. Moreover, he said, Libya's nomination had been endorsed at the highest levels of government - at a summit meeting of more than 50 African leaders in Durban, South Africa last month. "Human Rights Watch has no right to interfere in a decision taken by sovereign nation states," he added.
Under a time-honored system of geographical rotation, Africa has the right to nominate its candidate to chair the commission when it begins its next session in Geneva in March next year. Since this informal arrangement is respected by all member states, Libya is expected to be elected by acclamation and without a vote.
The original decision to nominate Libya was taken by the U.N.'s African regional group, comprising all 54 African members. It was reaffirmed by heads of state attending the recently concluded inaugural summit of the new African Union (AU), the successor to the now-defunct Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Joanna Weschler of HRW told IPS that the African group could change its mind on the nomination. "It is 100 percent in the hands of the African group, and if they so wish, they can reverse the decision." ***
Libya wins Central African resource deal*** The Central African Republic (CAR) has signed a 99-year treaty giving Libya the right to exploit its oil, uranium and other mineral resources. CAR mines minister Andre Nalke Dorogo told Reuters that the deal was signed in June and covered all mineral resources. "It's a normal accord between one sovereign country and another. The agreement concerns all resources, notably diamonds, gold, copper, iron and - if possible - oil," Mr Dorogo said. "It covers the entire country," he added.***