Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 6 June 2017
US ambassador has message for ‘corrupt’ UN rights body

By JAMEY KEATEN lions of dollars in arms sales neva to lecture. for “competitive voting among its 47 members
Associated Press over 10 years to Saudi Ara- Laying out her tack in an to keep the worst human Burundi, China, Congo,
GENEVA (AP) — Weeks bia, which is leading a mili- opinion piece Friday in The rights abusers from obtain- Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, the
after becoming U.S. Presi- tary campaign in neigh- Washington Post, Haley ing seats.” Philippines,
dent Donald Trump’s am- boring Yemen that has said the council must “end “I will outline changes that Saudi Arabia and Venezu-
bassador to the United Na- killed hundreds of civilians. its practice of wrongly must be made,” Haley ela, all of which have spot-
tions, Nikki Haley described ty rights records but won
the U.N.’s Human Rights seats through its arcane
Council as “so corrupt.” system of regional blocs.
Expect some sparks to fly, And like all things U.N., it is
then, when she addresses eminently political: North
that body for the first time. Korea, for example, has
En route to the Middle East, used it to bash racial dis-
Haley drops in Tuesday at crimination and gun vio-
the meeting in Geneva to lence in the United States,
deliver a speech and take and CIA secret prisons
part in a “side event” fo- abroad, calling the U.S.
cusing on rights in Venezu- “the worst-ever tundra of
ela. Her one-day appear- human rights in the world”
ance is shaping up as per- in its typically colorful prose
haps the standout event of during the March council
the council’s three-week session.
session because the U.S. John Fisher, Geneva di-
has a reputation as a key rector for Human Rights
human-rights defender Watch, said many will be
and is the single largest do- listening out for Haley’s
nor to the United Nations. tone.
Her boss, “If the tone seeks to set the
however, has shaken up U.S. above the rest of the
that image and raised In this April 24, 2017 photo, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley speaks to the media during world in terms of its com-
doubts about America’s the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. “So corrupt”: mitment to human rights
global commitments. That’s what Nikki Haley called the U.N.’s Human Rights Council at a think tank event weeks after and multilateralism, I think
Trump is seeking deep cuts becoming President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. Now, she’ll address the that’s a message that will
council head-on.
in U.S. funding for interna- (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) fall a bit flat” he said.
tional organizations like the “That said,
U.N. and the council. Despite criticism of the singling out Israel for criti- wrote. “When the world’s if the message is one of
On Thursday, he an- kingdom on issues like cism.” She said “the pres- pre-eminent human rights ‘Let’s work together’ to
nounced the U.S. will with- women’s rights and quell- ence of multiple human body is turned into a haven strengthen multilateral in-
draw from the Paris climate ing of political dissent, rights-violating countries for dictators, the idea of in- stitutions to the benefit of
accord, denting Washing- Trump insisted: “We are not ... has damaged both the ternational cooperation in everyone involved, then I
ton’s moral capital. Last here to lecture.” reputation of the coun- support of human dignity is think that’s a message that
month in Riyadh, he an- Haley, on the other hand, cil and the cause of hu- discredited.” we can all work with,” he
nounced hundreds of bil- will most certainly be in Ge- man rights.” She called The council now counts added.q

US energy secretary challenges China to be leader on climate

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Energy from its role as a leader in ronment of where you live
Secretary Rick Perry said cleaning up the climate.” locally and of the world,
Monday that he hopes Chi- Earlier Monday, Perry told then you need to be for
na will step forward to be his Japanese counterpart, nuclear energy,” Perry
a “real leader” on climate Hiroshige Seko, that the said. “Zero emissions.”
issues, while rejecting criti- U.S. commitment to the en- He said laboratories over-
cism that the United States vironment is unchanged, seen by the U.S. Energy
is backing down. according to Kazushige Department are research-
President Donald Trump’s Tanaka, a Japanese indus- ing new ways to harness
decision last week to pull try ministry official who was nuclear power, from small
the U.S. out of the Paris at their meeting. modular reactors to fusion.
climate agreement has Perry said the United States, Perry visited the Fukushima
sparked speculation that as it has led the effort in nuclear complex on Sun-
he is creating a leadership tackling carbon reduction day and offered U.S. help
void that China could fill. and clean coal technol- in decommissioning the
Perry, in Tokyo en route to a ogy, will continue to be a plant, which is expected to
meeting of energy ministers leader in developing clean take decades.
in Beijing, said: “I hope Chi- energy and technology. “We offer continued sup-
na will step in and attempt He agreed with Seko on port, expertise, compa-
to take the mantle away. Japan-U.S. cooperation in U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, left, poses with Japanese Econ- nies that have history of
It would be a good chal- clean energy and the envi- omy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko prior to their dealing with cleanups and
lenge for them.” ronment, as well as nuclear meeting at Seko’s ministry in Tokyo, Monday, June 5, 2017. technology available, as
(AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
But he prefaced that re- energy and the cleanup well as the Department of
mark by saying, “the United of the Fukushima nuclear damaged by a 2011 earth- “If you’re a millennial, and Energy,” he said.q
States is not backing down power plant, which was quake and tsunami. you care about the envi-