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“Since the end of the Cold War multilateralism is in full swing and the Human Rights Council is one of the best expressions of that”, declared Adrien-Claude Zoller, director of ‘Geneva Human Rights’. The Organisation of Islamic Conferences (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), both moving in concentric circles, are using the Council as an instrument of blackmail,” he said, “to obtain what they want from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Security Council, where none of their members has the right to veto.” For this veteran activist, there is no doubt that such alliances paralyze the Council, slowing down developments and impeding gains. “There must be a coherent strategy of deconstruction, and they do not have one, even if they have succeeded in removing some country experts (Special Rapporteurs).” Special Interest Groups Neither the OIC nor the NAM form part of the geographic group drawn up by the UN Charter, which consists of five regions: Africa, Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Arab countries, which do not constitute an autonomous geographic entity within the UN, created the League of Arab States in 1945. This comprises 22 members and is accorded observer status by the UN, which allows it to act as a lobby without any voting rights. The NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) is a powerful special interest group that emerged on the international scene at the Bandung conference in Indonesia in 1955. It was headed by historic leaders such as Nehru, Nasser and Castro, followed by Bourguiba, N’kruma, Nyerere and Ben Bella. “In the subconscious of the southern countries, the Egypt of Nasser, the Algeria of Ben Bella and the Cuba of Castro remain post colonial heroes,” said Zoller. “As a result, it is very difficult for their diplomats to take different positions from these countries and to denounce those considered like family.” Today the NAM includes 115 countries, which gives it an automatic majority in the UN even if no big power is a member. Then the OIC was created in 1969 as an intergovernmental organization of 57 Muslim countries with observer status at the UN. The OIC is traditionally presided over by Pakistan. The obstacles in question The Human Rights Council includes 47 members, with Africa and Asia each having 13 members, thus giving the bloc an automatic majority. “The members of the Arab League and the OIC are distributed between the African group and the Asian group. If they manage to control these groups – or even to assume presidency of them – they in fact control the Council, by making very negative propositions” said Zoller. According to Babakar Ba (of Senegal) the OIC’s permanent respresentative at the UN, “The OIC does not form blocs!” He says their objectives are the same as the other members of the Council. “We want a solid organ that promotes and protects human rights. On the other hand, there are differences on implementation because we are opposed to politization, selectivity and double-speak. Take the case of Darfur. We agreed to recognize that there were violations but did not accept attempts to intimidate the Sudanese government. Khartoum had asked for help and we wanted to dialogue and collaborate with them. The European Union often works alongside the OIC. Because human rights are universal, there are no Muslim, Christian or Islamic rights.” Another diplomat from the South, speaking anonymously, also refuted the theory of new blocs within the Council. “There are no defined groups, but rather countries like Pakistan and Egypt that seek to place their pawns. If a small country tries to promote its own Special Rapporteur in an independent way, it finds no support even from western countries.” Even Zoller recognizes that the blocs are not always watertight, “Certain diplomats discreetly confide in us that they have had enough of the heavy hand of the large special interest groups.” During the vote on Darfur some African countries voted against the majority African bloc. It did nevertheless manage to end the mandate for the group of Special Rapporteurs on Darfur.
[5 March 2008] - Delegates at the Human Rights Council are asking if the diplomatic cards have been reshuffled after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some believe a new alliance of Muslim and Non-aligned countries is replacing the former Soviet bloc in confronting the West.