The Commission was repeatedly criticized for the composition of its membership. In particular, several of its member countries themselves had dubious human rights records, including states whose representatives had been elected to chair the commission.
Another criticism was that the Commission did not engage in constructive discussion of human rights issues, but was a forum for politically selective finger-pointing and criticism. The desire of states with problematic human rights records to be elected to the Commission was viewed largely as a way to defend themselves from such attacks.
Activist groups had long expressed concern over the memberships of the People's Republic of China, Zimbabwe, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and the past memberships of Algeria, Syria, Libya, Uganda and Vietnam on the Commission. These countries had extensive records of human rights violations, and one concern was that by working against resolutions on the commission condemning human rights violations, they indirectly promoted despotism and domestic repression.
On May 4, 2004, United States ambassador Sichan Siv walked out of the Commission following the uncontested election of Sudan to the commission, calling it an "absurdity" in light of Sudan's ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region. One major consequence of the election of Sudan to the Commission was the lack of willingness for some countries to work through the commission. Indeed, on July 30, 2004, it was the United Nations Security Council, not the Commission, that passed a resolution—by 13–0, with China and Pakistan abstaining—threatening Sudan with unspecified sanctions if the situation in the Darfur region did not improve within the following 30 days. The reasons given for the action were the attacks by the Janjaweed Arab militias of Sudan on the non-Arab African Muslim population of Darfur, a region in western Sudan.
The commission had also come under repeated criticism from the United States for its unwillingness to address real human rights concerns. In 2002, the United States was kicked off the commission by the other member states, many of whom have been criticized for their human rights violations, and in 2003 Syria put forward a proposal to discuss US war crimes in Iraq. But journalist Anne Applebaum wrote, "the European Union and the United States aren't exempt from blame, either", citing their hesitance in voting to criticize Russia's actions in Chechnya.
We can only hope that the anonymous writer of the letter that an American cutomer found in her purchase of Halloween decorations at a Kmart store in Oregon, will somehow get the message out to the world.
— Albert Gedraitis
Purported plea from Chinese labor camp found in Halloween decorations
Published December 26, 2012
FoxNews.com
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Courtesy Julie Keith
An Oregon woman who found a Chinese laborer's plea for help hidden in a box of Halloween decorations says she thinks the letter, which describes brutal conditions inside a work camp, is authentic.
Julie Keith, 42, of Portland, bought a Halloween graveyard kit from Kmart last year and tucked it away in a storage box. When she opened the kit this October, she found the letter tucked in between two Stryofoam headstones.
“I fully believe it is real.”
“If you occasionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization,” the unsigned letter read. “Thousands people here who are under the persicution [sic] of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever."
The writer said the product was made in Masanjia Labor Camp in Shenyang, China, where laborers work for 15 hours a day without time off on the weekends and holidays, making only 10 yuan ($1.61) per month.
The China director at Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, told The Oregonian
that the organization could not confirm the origin or authenticity of the letter.
that the organization could not confirm the origin or authenticity of the letter.
But Keith told FoxNews.com that she thinks it isn’t a fake, after analyzing the product packaging and showing it to a Chinese co-worker at the Portland Goodwill store where she works, who said it looked authentic.
“I fully believe it is real,” she said, describing how the headstones where the letter was found inside of were sealed together and the box was closed with tape. “It had to have come from where they said.”
Keith posted an image of the letter on Facebook and said she’s been criticized online from people who fear retribution against the workers, as the letter contains their exact location at the camp they are stationed – “Unit 8, Department 2.”
But she added that she is “just trying to spread awareness.”
“It would be nice if these companies were aware of what was happening,” she said.
ICE's Homeland Security Investigations said Tuesday that it is looking into the letter, The Oregonian reported. Keith told FoxNews.com that she spoke to ICE agents and gave them the box of decorations and the letter, but hasn’t received any updates.
Sears Holdings Corporation, which owns Kmart, said in a statement that it is also investigating the matter.
"Sears Holdings has a Global Compliance Program which helps to ensure that vendors and factories producing merchandise for our company adhere to specific Program Requirements, and all local laws pertaining to employment standards and workplace practices," the company said. "Failure to comply with any of the Program Requirements, including the use of forced labor, may result in a loss of business or factory termination.”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/26/woman-finds-alleged-letter-describing-rough-conditions-at-chinese-labor-camp/#ixzz2GSKLVdsB
