UN canceling election aid to Honduras
The United Nations has decided to cut off a previously announced aid to Honduras for its upcoming elections, as a new action against the putschists who took over the country in June.The United States has already taken steps cutting aid to Honduras' coup-backed government.
The contribution, which was expected to be channelled through the UN Development Programme (UNDP), was now cancelled and it will be announced Monday, Honduran envoy to the UN Jorge Arturo Reina told Prensa Latina Saturday.
Honduras envoy says "ordered out" of U.N. rights body
* Brazil, Argentina say envoy represents illegal government
* Dispute stalls proceedings at U.N. Human Rights Council
* U.S. takes voting seat, to back Israel at 47-member body
(Adds council president's statement)
By Robert Evans
GENEVA, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The Honduran ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said on Monday he had been ordered out of the U.N. Human Rights Council after other Latin American countries accused him of representing an "illegal" regime.
After a day of confusion which stalled the start of the three-week session of the 47-nation council, envoy J. Delmer Urbizo left the hall declaring loudly in English and Spanish: "We will be back! Volveremos!"
The dramatic scenes came after Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Cuba insisted that Delmer Urbizo, who has served as ambassador in Geneva for three years, could not stay unless he was approved by ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya.
Alex Van Meeuwen, the Belgian president of the Human Rights Council, told the envoy he could not speak in response since Honduras is only an observer in the forum, and should leave while his credentials were checked overnight.
"I was ordered out. They have put security guards on me to make sure I left," Delmer Urbizo told reporters as blue-shirted U.N. police stood by. "But we will be back, make no mistake, and these people will see what they have done."
Van Meeuwen later issued a statement saying he became aware late on Monday afternoon that Zelaya's government had reportedly written a letter on Aug. 20 indicating Delmer Urbizo "did not represent the constitutional president".
"I hope to have clarification on this technical and organisational yet very sensitive matter, so the Human Rights Council can proceed with its work and follow the programme we have set out together," he said.
"We will continue to discuss this matter as it is still on the table. I should state very clearly that the Human Rights Council does not exclude any country from participating in its sessions."
Delmer Urbizo said he and other diplomats from the country's mission in Geneva -- where he has declared his support for Honduras' de facto ruler Roberto Micheletti -- would return after elections set for November.
There was no rival delegation from Zelaya's government in exile in the hall, but no country spoke in Delmer Urbizo's defence. The U.N. General Assembly has called on its members not to recognise the Micheletti government, which took power after a June military coup.
U.S. "WILL NOT LOOK THE OTHER WAY"
The day-long squabble as Latin American countries and U.N. officials sought a solution to the issue led to the postponement of the delivery of a keynote address from U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
In her speech, whose text was circulated early on Monday, Pillay said millions of women were denied fundamental freedoms, mentioning the Gulf states, Sudan and Afghanistan.
"Women's rights continue to be curtailed in too many countries," her speech read, pointing to a "severe backlash against women's rights" in Afghanistan during its election.
The council is due to tackle other issues, including Israel's invasion of Gaza at the turn of the year. A major U.N. report on the Israeli assault, being condemned in advance by Jewish groups, is due out later this month.
It is the first council session in which a U.S. delegation is participating as a voting member, following its election to the body in May [ID:nN12320910].
Esther Brimmer, an assistant U.S. Secretary of State, told the council Washington wanted it to focus on violations no matter where they took place or which sensitivities they invoke.
"The United States will not look the other way in the face of serious human rights abuses," she said. "While we will aim for common ground, we will call things as we see them and we will stand our ground when the truth is at stake."
Developing states often vote as a majority bloc to criticise Israel at the council. Critics say that is a tactic to divert attention from human rights abuses elsewhere in the world.
This has raised questions about whether the body created in 2006 is any more effective than its predecessor, the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan overhauled because it was strangled by geopolitics. (Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and Laura MacInnis; editing by Andrew Roche)
Honduras envoy says "ordered out" of U.N. rights body
GENEVA (Reuters) - The Honduran ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said Monday he had been ordered out of the U.N. Human Rights Council after other Latin American countries accused him of representing an "illegal" regime.
After a day of confusion which stalled the start of the three-week session of the 47-nation council, envoy J. Delmer Urbizo left the hall declaring loudly in English and Spanish: "We will be back! Volveremos!"
The dramatic scenes came after Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Cuba insisted that Delmer Urbizo, who has served as ambassador in Geneva for three years, could not stay unless he was approved by ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya.
Alex Van Meeuwen, the Belgian president of the Human Rights Council, told the envoy he could not speak in response since Honduras is only an observer in the forum, and should leave while his credentials were checked overnight.
"I was ordered out. They have put security guards on me to make sure I left," Delmer Urbizo told reporters as blue-shirted U.N. police stood by. "But we will be back, make no mistake, and these people will see what they have done."
Van Meeuwen later issued a statement saying he became aware late Monday afternoon that Zelaya's government had reportedly written a letter on August 20 indicating Delmer Urbizo "did not represent the constitutional president."
"I hope to have clarification on this technical and organizational yet very sensitive matter, so the Human Rights Council can proceed with its work and follow the program we have set out together," he said.
"We will continue to discuss this matter as it is still on the table. I should state very clearly that the Human Rights Council does not exclude any country from participating in its sessions."
Delmer Urbizo said he and other diplomats from the country's mission in Geneva -- where he has declared his support for Honduras' de facto ruler Roberto Micheletti -- would return after elections set for November.
There was no rival delegation from Zelaya's government in exile in the hall, but no country spoke in Delmer Urbizo's defence. The U.N. General Assembly has called on its members not to recognise the Micheletti government, which took power after a June military coup.
U.S. "WILL NOT LOOK THE OTHER WAY"
The day-long squabble as Latin American countries and U.N. officials sought a solution to the issue led to the postponement of the delivery of a keynote address from U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
In her speech, whose text was circulated early Monday, Pillay said millions of women were denied fundamental freedoms, mentioning the Gulf states, Sudan and Afghanistan.
"Women's rights continue to be curtailed in too many countries," her speech read, pointing to a "severe backlash against women's rights" in Afghanistan during its election.
The council is due to tackle other issues, including Israel's invasion of Gaza at the turn of the year. A major U.N. report on the Israeli assault, being condemned in advance by Jewish groups, is due out later this month.
It is the first council session in which a U.S. delegation is participating as a voting member, following its election to the body in May [ID:nN12320910].
Esther Brimmer, an assistant U.S. Secretary of State, told the council Washington wanted it to focus on violations no matter where they took place or which sensitivities they invoke.
"The United States will not look the other way in the face of serious human rights abuses," she said. "While we will aim for common ground, we will call things as we see them and we will stand our ground when the truth is at stake."
Developing states often vote as a majority bloc to criticise Israel at the council. Critics say that is a tactic to divert attention from human rights abuses elsewhere in the world.
This has raised questions about whether the body created in 2006 is any more effective than its predecessor, the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan overhauled because it was strangled by geopolitics.
(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and Laura MacInnis; editing by Andrew Roche)
Honduras standoff delays Human Rights Council start
* Honduras delegation challenged at Human Rights Council
* Protest from Brazil, Argentina disrupts session start
* Women's rights, Gaza, Afghanistan to dominate proceedings
* U.S. takes voting seat, to back Israel at 47-member body
(Adds quotes from Honduran ambassador)
By Robert Evans and Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Disagreement over who should represent Honduras at the United Nations marred the opening session of the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday, which will tackle the heated question alongside Gaza and other issues.
Latin American delegations led by Argentina and Brazil protested the presence of Honduras, which does not have a voting seat on the 47-member Geneva body but sought to take part as an observer, as dozens of other countries typically do.
Closed-door negotiations about whether the Central American country, whose president Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a June military coup, was properly represented there delayed the start of the Human Rights Council session by about three hours.
Jose Delmer Urbizo, Honduras' ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, denounced the calls for him to be barred from the U.N. hall and insisted that he would stay on.
"This is a totally illegal action inspired by the (President Hugo) Chavez regime in Venezuela," he told reporters. "I will not abandon my post."
The Honduran coup has stoked political tensions in Latin America and de facto ruler Roberto Micheletti is under pressure from Washington and other capitals to step down. New elections are scheduled for November. [ID:nN11460108]
Delmer Urbizo has been the Honduran ambassador in Geneva for three years, first as representative of Zelaya's administration and now of the government that replaced him. The Human Rights Council was due to address the concerns raised by Brazil and Argentina later on Monday afternoon.
As a result of the disruption, an opening speech from U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay was bumped to later on Monday or Tuesday morning.
In those remarks, which were made public ahead of the Council opening, Pillay said that women around the world were denied fundamental freedoms, citing particular concerns about the Gulf states, Sudan and Afghanistan.
"Women's rights continue to be curtailed in too many countries," her speech read, pointing to a "severe backlash against women's rights" in Afghanistan's elections and urging authorities there to stop violence related to the vote.
WAR CRIMES ALLEGATIONS
In addition to returning to the Honduras issue, the Council will in its latest three-week session assess violations around the world, including allegations of war crimes during Israel's invasion of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December and January.
It marks the first session of the 47-state body in which a U.S. delegation participates as a voting member, following its election in May. [ID:nN12320910] Washington is expected to back Israel, a close ally, during the Gaza debate set for Sept. 29.
While citing some positive developments in the Gulf region -- including the election of four women to Kuwait's parliament and the appointment of the first female deputy minister in Saudi Arabia -- Pillay's text said "the overall situation of women falls well short of international standards."
Gulf countries must remove the exceptions they invoked when ratifying key international human rights treaties, and grant full rights and freedoms for women, the High Commissioner argued. In Sudan, which has signed many rights pacts, a pattern of discrimination against women nevertheless persists, she said.
Lubna Hussein, a former U.N. staff member in Sudan, was sentenced to prison last week by a Khartoum court on charges of dressing indecently in trousers. [ID:nL8678488] Pillay welcomed her release, after a journalists' union paid her fine, but urged Sudan to "take all necessary steps to address the equality gap". (Writing by Laura MacInnis; Editing by Dominic Evans and Louise Ireland)
Conflicto en la ONU por la presencia del embajador de Honduras en Ginebra
40 minutos
GINEBRA (AFP) - La sesión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU fue bloqueada durante toda la mañana del lunes en Ginebra por el grupo de países latinoamericanos y del Caribe, opuestos a la presencia del embajador de Honduras, Delmer Urbizo, favorable al presidente de facto, Roberto Micheletti."Mi gobierno no reconoce ninguna representación diplomática del gobierno de facto encabezado por Micheletti", manifestó a AFP Homero Hernández, embajador en Ginebra de la República Dominicana.
Estos diplomáticos reflejan la postura dominante del grupo de países latinoamericanos y del Caribe en el seno del Consejo, que no le reconoce representatividad al embajador Urbizo, quien no obstante permaneció en el recinto.
"Yo represento a mi país y a mi pueblo y no hay razón para que no participe en los trabajos del Consejo", sostuvo Urbizo ante AFP.
Para intentar destrabar la situación, las representaciones de Brasil y Argentina plantearon una moción de orden destinada a debatir públicamente el caso.
El presidente del Consejo, el belga Alex Van Meeuwen, propuso entonces postergar las deliberaciones para la tarde.
Por otra parte, fuentes diplomáticas concordantes anticiparon que se espera en Ginebra la llegada inminente de una comunicación escrita del gobierno depuesto de José Manuel Zelaza, firmada por Patricia Rada, la ministra de exteriores de dicho gobierno, donde se desacredita a Urbizo como embajador de Honduras en Ginebra.
Sin embargo, fuentes diplomáticas occidentales estimaron que la eventual distitución del embajador de Urbizo no significa el cese inmediato de sus funciones.
Al respecto, señalaron que debería permanecer en el cargo "con los mismos derechos que los demas representantes", según la reglamentación vigente en la ONU, hasta que la Asamblea General de la ONU decida la cuestión.
Integrado por 47 Estados elegidos por el voto secreto de la Asamblea General de la ONU, según una repartición regional rotativa anualmente, este Consejo acoge este año por America Latina y el Caribe a Brasil, Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Chile, México, Nicaragua y Uruguay.
Los demas países de la región pueden participar como observadores con derecho al uso de la palabra, siendo el caso de Honduras, ahora cuestionado por los demas países de la región latinoamericana y del Caribe.
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