On the Draft Resolution Adopted by the General Assembly of the UN: Behind Brazil's Abstention

Povo de Baha
Thank you Marco for finding this story within a story and sharing it with us. Marco's marvelous blog is the Portuguese-language Povo de Baha. -gw

You probably read the news about the draft resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the UN. It was published yesterday on BWNS

http://news.bahai.org/story/594

There was a curious thing about Brazil, who abstained during the vote.

On the web page of the Department of Public Information of the UN General Assembly I found this:

"The representative of Brazil said she had abstained from the vote because her Government supported the consolidation of the Human Rights Council as the main United Nations body to promote and protect human rights. The Council would create an enabling environment to address human rights violations, in the spirit of cooperation and dialogue. However, she noted the situation in Iran with some concern, particularly the lack of free expression, violence against women and the practice of cruel punishment. Her Government was also against the use of the death penalty on people under 18 years of age.

"In addition, she said Brazil disapproved of acts of discrimination against the Baha’i community, including imprisonment on issues of conscience and restrictions on some members of that community to the right to work and education. She expected the Iranian Government to deepen its dialogue with the Human Rights Council and other United Nations human rights mechanisms. Iran’s ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination were welcomed."
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For more information:

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/gashc3909.doc.htm

This is an interesting thing in a sense that Brazil avoided political games around the Council of Human Rights (and reaffirmed if wanted to work properly). But at the same time, that did not stop them from censoring Iran about the situation of the Baha’is.

Baha'i greetings from Lisbon, Marco Oliveira
http://povodebaha.blogspot.com/