UN Human Rights Council

June 21, 2018 by Catherine Onyemelukwe

US Withdraws from UN Human Rights Council

Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the UN

The US has withdrawn from the UNHRC, the United Nations Human Rights Council. Nikki Haley, our ambassador to the UN, explained the reason, according to CNN: “the body of bias against US ally Israel and a failure to hold human rights abusers accountable.”

I first read the news in Chinese online media which reported that, “In Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein responded that the U.S. withdrawal is ‘disappointing, if not really surprising.’ ”

The High Commissioner said, “Given the state of Human Rights in today’s world, the U.S. should be stepping up, not stepping back.” according to Xinhua News online.

The UN itself, in their Dispatch, said, “Haley’s criticisms of the Human Rights Council are as old as the Council itself.”

History of US Engagement, and a Tough Report from UNHRC

The Council was created in 2005. The US did not join immediately. “After the 2008 elections, the United States opted to join, concluding that it could better steer the work of the Council from the inside, including defending Israel, rather than from the sidelines.”

“Data shows that when the US was engaged,” there were fewer resolutions against Israel, the UN Dispatch said.

But the UNHRC has been critical of the US’s recent policy of separating children from their parents at the US border, issuing a critical statement the day before the US withdrawal was announced.

That had no relationship, some commentators say. The decision was made earlier. They believe the US is completely justified in its withdrawal, as you can read here.

The UNHRC was already somewhat out of favor in the eyes of US officials because of a critical report in December 2017.

The 2017 report’s writer said, “In the statement that I’m releasing today . . . I make the point that the United States is clearly one of the richest countries in the world, that it clearly has levels of technological and other innovation that are the envy of all, that its people have a work ethic that is extraordinary.”

He continued, “But coupled with all those achievements, are the statistics that are pretty well-known — at least to the international community — that the U.S. infant mortality rate is the highest in the developed world; that Americans can expect to live shorter and sicker lives than in any other rich democracy; that inequality levels are higher than in most European countries; that neglected tropical diseases are making a comeback.

My Husband’s Birth Story

Clem's mother, perhaps 1950's, after completing her family

Clem’s mother Grace, perhaps 1950’s, after completing her family

My group of Sister Grannies met tonight. We wrote on the topic, “Birth.” As usual, our stories were as different as we are!

I read an excerpt from my new book, now in the editing process, about my husband’s birth in the 1930’s in Sapoba, in what is now Edo State. That’s where Clem’s father Samuel was working.

Samuel was employed in the United Africa Company’s logging industry. UAC controlled much of the commercial life in colonial Nigeria at the time. Cutting timber and shipping the logs or the cut wood to England was a major enterprise.

He and his wife Grace were married around 1929. Clem, their first child, was not born until 1933, a long time to wait for a young African couple at that time. They were worried and even went to visit a Dibia, or shaman, seeking help.

You can read the story here.

New Yorker Magazine: Chimamanda Finds Fame

I loved reading the story about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s rise to fame in the recent New Yorker. The bits of her conversation with her daughter with whom she speaks Igbo were charming.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Especially interesting was how she came to run her writing workshops in Nigeria, and the way she has inspired other writers. It’s a long article, but worth reading if you’re a fan like I am.

Black History from ColorofChange

I get periodic emails from ColorofChange.org. I believe the organization does good work, so I usually pay attention. They sent this email on Tuesday:

Subject: Don’t let the College Board erase Black history.

Black history matters. Yet the College Board, the massive non-profit that administers Advanced Placement (AP) classes, is in the process of removing Black and Brown history from their AP World History course – a course taken by millions of students every year. Instead of being one of the few opportunities for students across the country to learn about diverse histories and perspectives, the course will now reinforce the false centrality of white European colonialism (bold is mine) in history. We need to push for a full reinstatement of Black and Brown histories and a commitment to promote Black and Brown histories throughout their AP courses.

Another birthday: Teya celebrated her 9th birthday a week after Bruche’s 7th!

I signed the petition. You can too!

Hypertension and Diabetes in Nigeria

Hypertension and diabetes are diseases that were mostly unknown in countries like Nigeria a few decades ago. Now, with higher standards of living, more opportunity to buy processed foods, and greater stresses, they are no longer unknown.

In Nigeria, there is an organization called ROHSI, or Rays of Hope Support Initiative.

ROHSI works to prevent and treat hypertension and diabetes in Ibadan and the surrounding towns. Kathryn Oswald, a former Peace Corps volunteer and consultant, is assisting ROHSI with fundraising. I agreed to pass on the link for their crowdfunding campaign. You can link to it here.

Author: Catherine Onyemelukwe

Author, blogger, speaker. Born in New York, grew up in mid west United States, lived in Nigeria for 24 years, back in U.S. since 1986. Advocate for racial justice.