DELEGITIMIZING THE UN
By Amos Schupak
Jerusalem Post
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March 2 2009
After Canada and Israel, the US equally announced, last Friday,
its intention not to attend the upcoming "Durban II" Conference on
Racism. Although this is an important decision, in the past mere
boycotts have not been sufficient to effectively discredit UN biased
anti-Israeli decisions and summits. To have a greater impact, the
strategy of delegitimization should be taken a step further. Jerusalem
should announce that it will apply for a membership to the Council of
Europe – an international organization whose human rights protection
system is much more credible than the UN mechanisms.
The UN disproportionately condemns Israel for human rights violations
since the majority of its members are non-Western countries hostile to
the Jewish state. This is especially true within its recently-created
Human Rights Council, which is in charge of preparing the upcoming
conference.
With Libya chairing the preparatory committee for the event and
countries like Iran, Pakistan and Cuba serving on its bureau, the
conference should not be much different from the precedent one held
in Durban in 2001, which was clearly dominated by an anti-Israeli
agenda. In fact, current draft resolutions for the next summit assert
that Israel leads racist policies and even implicitly question Israel’s
right to exist.
AN ISRAELI candidature for admission to the Council of Europe would
send the clear message to the world that the Jewish state does not
fear criticism from international bodies as long as they are not
dominated by anti-Zionist dictatorships. This idea would be difficult
to challenge as the Council of Europe generally sets higher standards
of human rights protection than the UN. Israel would be less criticized
within the Council of Europe as the majority of its 47 member states
are democracies that have good relations with Jerusalem.
Israel could then use the work of the Council of Europe to
discredit the UN. For instance, the European Commission on Racism and
Intolerance, a well-respected institution of the European organization
which has done much to fight anti-Semitism would never label Zionism as
a racist ideology. If Israel joins the organization, the conclusions
of the commission could be opposed to any UN attempt to do so in
the future.
SOME COULD still claim that there is no need to join yet another
organization which could consider Israel as an occupier. Yet one has
to keep in mind that there are many territorial disputes within the
Council of Europe. Azerbaijan considers that Armenia occupies Nagorno
Karabakh, Georgia that Russia occupies Abkhazia, Cyprus that Turkey
occupies its northern region, and while some countries have recognized
the independence of Kosovo, many still oppose it. Therefore Israel’s
situation will be only one out of many such issues.
The decision-making body of the Council of Europe – the Committee of
Ministers – is a traditional intergovernmental institution in which
there is a culture of consensus. Most of its resolutions in recent
years have de facto been passed by unanimity. Unlike in the UN,
Israel would therefore have a real chance to defend its positions
within the organ and oppose possible attempts to label the situation
in the Middle-East in terms with which it does not agree.
Israel could still be condemned by less senior bodies or, more
problematically, by the European Court for Human Rights, which is
part of the organization. Yet looking at the overall picture, this
would cause only limited harm to Israel, which at the end of the day
would improve its international image by joining the Council of Europe.
This would not be the only advantage for Israel. Joining the Council
of Europe would strengthen its democracy and judicial system. It would
also improve Israel’s relations with the different member states as
the broader goal of the organization is to create a greater unity in
Europe. This enhanced cooperation could even be a first step towards
an Israeli admission into the European Union, a move supported by
many Israelis. In fact, compliance with the Human Rights standards
of the Council of Europe is a prerequisite for joining the EU.
A membership in the Council is possible to obtain. Israel already
has an observer status in some of its main bodies. Most importantly,
considering the context of the anti-Israeli UN Conference, no member
state should oppose Israel’s admission.
Let’s hope it will grab the chance.
The writer is a Legacy Heritage fellow at the Begin Sadat Center for
Strategic Studies of the Bar Ilan University and a former trainee of
the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.