Please excuse me while I try to control my laughter. It really isn’t a funny situation, but a headline I came across today is so ludicrous, so preposterous, so completely outlandish . . . well, either I had to laugh, or I might otherwise have punched a hole in the wall. Judge for yourselves:

“Russia says it deserves a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. It may have a shot.” [Richard Roth, CNN, October 10, 2023.]

WHAT WAS THAT??!!!

Okay, first part . . . hilarious in its audacity, but not entirely surprising, coming from Russia. Second part . . . beyond infuriating! I mean, come on! “Russia” and “Human Rights” in the same sentence, without the addition of “when pigs fly”? Instead, it says they “may have a shot”??!!! How is that even possible?

Well, in Vladimir Putin’s upside-down, through-the-looking-glass world, I suppose anything is possible, as long as it benefits him.

And seriously, this is actually being voted on in the U.N. today (Tuesday, October 10th) by the 47 members of the Human Rights Council (HRC), as three U.N. member countries — Russia, Albania and Bulgaria — vie for the two seats presently open for the Eastern European bloc. One of the three — Russia — was formerly a member of the HRC, but was suspended last year as a result of its invasion of Ukraine. And its President, Vladimir Putin, is currently confined within Russia’s borders because of the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for his arrest over the deportations of Ukrainian children. So it should be a no-brainer, right? Two open seats, two countries that haven’t been suspended . . .

But not necessarily. Because Russia — stuck with a “special military operation” that it originally believed would be successfully concluded within a matter of days when the Ukrainian people would welcome its Russian “saviors” with open arms — is now finding ways to use this dragged-out war to its advantage. In short, Vladimir Putin is counting on the world’s becoming weary of the unexpected, ongoing cost of defending and aiding Ukraine, and is simply waiting for the “forgive-and-forget” syndrome to take hold. Russians have always been known for, among other things, their patience. “Wait long enough, and you’ll have a good crop.” “Wait long enough, and you’ll get a car.”

“Wait long enough, and you’ll no longer be a pariah.”

And that patience may be paying off. The HRC’s ballots are secret, so the members are free to vote as they choose, without fear of disapproval. And Russia still has friends on the Council: China, Cuba, North Korea, and a number of African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American countries. There are also those nations that rely on Russia for grain, oil, and natural gas. So a win for Russia would also be a win for themselves. How will they vote? I don’t know . . . but it’s a selfish world. *

* NOTE: As of 11:30 p.m. (Eastern) on October 10th, the U.N. website shows nothing about a Human Rights Council vote, or even a meeting. Like the Russians, then, we wait. Maybe tomorrow . . .

*. *. *

But it’s not just Russia we should be concerned about. The CNN report quoted Human Rights Watch UN Director Louis Charbonneau as follows:

“Every day Russia and China remind us by committing abuses on a massive scale that they should not be members of the UN Human Rights Council.” He also stated that their records — as well as those of Cuba and Burundi — are “abysmal.” And yet all of those countries are vying for seats on the Council, or for reelection.

It’s hard to believe that we’re talking about the venerable United Nations: the organization on which the world has depended since 1945 to maintain some semblance of order and peace, and to protect the human rights — there’s that term again — of its eight billion men, women and children.

As you can imagine, I’m not laughing now.

Brendochka
10/11/23