Global Policy Forum

By Colum Lynch

United Nations, March 14 -- The United States will regain a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission next year, according to U.S. and European diplomats. A U.S. seat on the Geneva-based body was ensured this week after Spain and Italy withdrew their candidacies, averting the risk of another humiliating defeat for the Bush administration. The United States was voted off the commission in May for the first time since it was founded in 1947. The ouster reflected international irritation over the administration's disdain for international conventions on such issues as global warming and missile defenses.

Although some of those concerns remain, U.N. diplomats said they did not want to isolate the United States again this year, especially when the administration is mounting a global battle against terrorism. In addition, many of Washington's European allies say that a U.S. presence on the commission is essential for maintaining its long-term credibility. "I think everybody wanted the United States back on the Human Rights Commission because without the United States, it is diminished," a European diplomat said. U.S. diplomats told their counterparts earlier this year that they would not run in a contested race and insisted that a bloc of Western states that compete for U.N. positions guarantee Washington a seat as part of a pre-approved slate.

Having persuaded Italy and Spain to pull out of the race, the Bush administration formally declared its intention Wednesday to take one of four seats open to members of the 29-member Western European and Others Group. Germany, Australia and Ireland will get the remaining vacant slots. The voting on the four seats, which will be a formality, will be held next month. The election will not be in time for the United States to vote in this year's session of the commission, which opens Monday for six weeks. The commission recommends measures to protect human rights around the world, keeps track of violations and censures countries that trample basic freedoms. "It looks like there is a seat available," said Iceland's ambassador, Thorsteinn Ingolfsson, who helped broker the agreement with the United States over representation in the commission. "I think every member of the group will be relieved to see that this immediate problem seems now to be resolved."

Ingolfsson said Italy and Spain's action broke an impasse that had blocked his efforts to negotiate an agreement to prevent another U.S. defeat. His initial plan, which was backed by the United States, called for the adoption of a practice of rotation that has traditionally been used by Africa and Asia to select their candidates.

The procedure has often been criticized for ensuring that countries with poor human rights records -- including Cuba, Sudan and Syria -- are represented on the commission. But the proposal would have guaranteed an American seat on the commission for 18 of the next 20 years. The scheme ultimately failed because of opposition from smaller countries such as Portugal and Canada that stand a better chance of serving on the commission through open elections.

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