Q: Joel Motley, LawyerWould you reflect on the impact, on the momentum of the human rights movement of the US’s recent relinquishment of its leadership in human rights. In fact, the abuses are so well known that – how do you see us catching up once we succeed in reversing that? A: AnnanYeah, I think it’s unfortunate that in the discussions that led to the establishment of the council the US found itself so isolated – on an issue like human rights, where it has a good record and has done so much, starting with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The US decided not to seek a seat on the council, to set it up this year, but they also promised me that they will cooperate with the council. In fact, we discussed a soft “no” and a hard “no”. They would say they would cooperate, so [it was a] soft no, but not a hard “no” and boycott cooperation with the council. In the end, I got a soft “no” and it is in the US interest to work with the other member states to strengthen this council, and next year, [I hope it will] consider a seat. |