2005 Press Releases

U.S. Does not Blacklist Sierra Leone for Human Rights Council

September 12, 2005

Freetown 
Tel: 226481

The U.S. firmly believes that countries that may serve on the new Human Rights Council should have a strong record of commitment to human rights and should not include human rights abusers.  The U.S. has been discussing minimum disqualifiers for membership on the Human Rights Council with other UN Member States.  Among the disqualifiers discussed is the possibility of excluding governments sanctioned by the Security Council, because it is the belief of the United States that governments that have been deemed a threat to peace and security by the Security Council are not well-placed to make recommendations on the promotion and protection of human rights. 
 
In the August 31 press conference on United Nations Reform and the upcoming General Assembly, the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations Affairs, Kristen Silverberg, stated, “We would like steps to make sure that the worst abusers are not on the Council…We’ve proposed that states subject to either sanctions or investigations should not be on the Council.  Other Member States have other proposals for ways that we can keep some of the worst offenders off, so this is going to be subject to lots of discussion.”
 
In further clarification, the U.S. proposal would apply in cases of sanctions against ­governments­ under UN Security Council sanctions. This proposal would not apply to countries where Security Council sanctions apply only to non-State actors, such as in the case of Sierra Leone. The UN Security Council sanctions on Sierra Leone, based on UN Security Council Resolution 1171 (1998), prohibit the sale of military arms and equipment to Sierra Leone other than to the Government of Sierra Leone, and prevent international travel by leading members of AFRC and RUF.
 
Discussions continue between Member States and the UN leadership on how a new Human Rights Council should be constituted.