Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Iran and the UN

Just when we thought that the UN could not possibly top itself after letting such paragons of human rights as Zimbabwe, Syria, and Libya sit on the UN Human Rights Commission, it somehow manages to do so. Cliff May has the scoop in this week's Foundation for the Defense of Democracies' "Notes & Comments":
IRAN DEFIES U.N.; IRAN REWARDED BY U.N.: The International Atomic Energy Agency last week confirmed that Iran is accelerating its efforts to enrich uranium and hiding crucial information about its nuclear program.

U.S. and European officials said they hoped to present a legally binding resolution (only Chapter 7 resolutions have the force of international law) requiring Iran to cease enrichment and increase cooperation with U.N. inspectors.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in response: "We do not give a damn about such resolutions." Also in recent days: The U.N. announced that Iran will co-chair the organization's "Conference on Disarmament."

U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who heads the House subcommittee on the Middle East, called that the equivalent of "appointing a serial killer to serve as a juror in a murder trial."

Last week, too, the U.S. State Department issued a report citing Iran as the world's "most active state sponsor of terrorism." The report says Iran plans and supports terrorist acts in Syria and Lebanon and is "increasingly involved in supplying lethal assistance" to violent Shia militias in Iraq.

How long will it be before the U.N. gives Iran a vice chairmanship of a commission on terrorism, as well?

Shocking. Yet somehow not surprising.

No comments: