Libya Is Suspended from the UN Human Rights Council, Finally

Today, the UN General Assembly voted to suspend Libya from the Human Rights Council.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this of the suspension:

"These actions send a strong and important message -- a message of great consequence within the region and beyond -- that there is no impunity, that those who commit crimes against humanity will be punished, that fundamental principles of justice and accountability shall prevail," Ban said.


This is an important move but it makes one wonder why it was that Libya was approved to be on the council to begin with. The only difference between what Gadhafi is doing now and what he was doing before the revolt began is that his massacres are now being done in public.

Gadhafi and his sons have been imprisoning, torturing and killing his own people for over 40 years now. The fact that Libya was ever appointed to the UN Human Rights Council is indicative of the laughable nature of the UN as a whole.

Having Libya on a human rights council is like having Saudi Arabia on a women's rights council or Iran on a gay rights council. It completely undermines the council's - and the United Nations' - reputation and exposes them both for the frauds they really are.

The fact that this is a mere suspension and not a permanent expulsion sheds even more light on the ridiculousness of this situation. It shows that even now - when Tripoli's streets are covered in blood - the UN cannot even bring itself to take a minimum of real action.

Mr. Ban is right, this action does send "a message of great consequence within the region and beyond," but it isn't the message of deterrence and justice that he claims. Its real message is that in order to be a respected member of the UN and its human rights council, the only thing a leader needs to do is keep his nation under control and keep their rights abuses - no matter how well known - behind closed doors.

Keep it Classy UN! You add a whole new level of Madness to the Mashriq!