Anger after Saudi Arabia 'chosen to head key UN human rights panel'

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/anger-after-saudi-arabia-chosen-to-head-key-un-human-rights-panel-10509716.html



This could have been posted on the Onion...

Are they being serious?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n5E7feJHw0

i think that one of the traits of a jedi is the ability to recognize how absurd, uncaring, and unjust much of the world is, without allowing this to make us habitually bitter or cynical

Guilt by association? It's a chance (duty), not an award (or at least it should not be, but what do diplomats actually do anyway except dinner parties LOL). I think you gotta give the guy a chance..... even if he comes from and represents a counter-culture in regards to human rights they might be able to conduct the job of Chair professionally by the standards of the UN.

So at the least he might broaden his understanding and take some of it back to make improvements. Otherwise, if he does mess the role up (eg by bringing in his own cultural interpretations of human rights), then he should be culpable for inappropriate decisions, and penalties could be applied to him for that, ideally. It would be good if by taking the role he is thus forced into acting according to the actual Charter of Human Rights etc (at least in his duties as Chair).

Eh maybe the guy's really good at it. Just because he was born in the wrong country doesn't mean he doesn't care. For all you know saudi arabia sent him there to keep him away from saudi internal politics. He could very well be a more "reasonable" voice when it comes to improving things in those places that have poor human rights records.... Our culture is as preposterous to them as theirs is to us... Either way his national origins shouldn't prevent him from doing what he likes or may even be good at.

I understand the scepticism, however actions speak louder than words and he hasn't really had the opportunity to do anything yet....

One thing I would do as a martial arts instructor is if I had a student who wasn't the best at a specific technique I'd actually have them teach it to someone who didn't know it (under my supervision of course). Being the lead of something that you aren't good at sometimes forces you to be good at it. That might be what they're doing here.

Then again, oil might just be more important that human rights politically speaking.