A cruel farce

In 1945, 51 nations signed an agreement to preserve international peace and security, expand friendly relations between the nations, and uphold human rights. That organization was the United Nations, which represented a promise of peace and prosperity after a horrific world war.

More than 60 years later, that same body is dominated by thugs and despots indistinguishable from those its founders fought against. A body meant to promote democracy and freedom has become the playground of such countries as Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Libya, where human rights are nothing more than an excuse to stick a knife into Israel while their own people suffer under harsh realities.

Earlier this week, The Jerusalem Post reported that Iran and Libya are vying for seats on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Unfortunately, given that Saudi Arabia and Cuba already occupy space on the council, Libya and Iran could be considered viable candidates. We are, however, outraged that this farce is allowed to continue when so many are suffering at the hands of the brutal dictators of these regimes that are charged with safeguarding the very rights they suppress.

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The notion that Iran, a known sponsor of world terror and the current subject of sanctions in the U.N. Security Council, could achieve a place on the Human Rights Council is beyond comprehension.

The United States has normalized relations with Libya. On paper, it is now no different from Israel, Great Britain, or any other of our allies. In reality, we know better. Libya is a brutal dictatorship run by a man whose hands are soaked in the blood of the innocent, including 38 people from New Jersey who died in the Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Our representatives in Washington and at the U.N. in New York must do everything in their power to block these rogue nations from attaining such positions of influence. These countries should be recognized and shunned as the enemies of human rights, not declared their global guardians.

Only then can the U.N. again be an organization dedicated to “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small.”

J.L.