Transnational Radical Party Successfully Stops Vietnamese Campaign To Suspend Consultative Status

The Economic and Social Council of the UN rejected 20–22 with 11 abstentions the Vietnamese proposal to suspend the Transnational Radical Party’s consultative status. This vote successful stopped a coalition of non-democracies, including China, Cuba, Libya and Zimbabwe, that have come together in an attempt to stop Western human rights groups from maintaining their accreditation.

To read Reuters coverage of the vote, click here.

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NGO Coalition Issues Press Release Highlighting The Need For More Democracies On The UN Human Rights Commission

On May 1 a coalition of NGOs issued a press release reaffirming the need for a UN Democracy Caucus. A UNDC could, in part, lead to more democracies becoming members of the various UN bodies. The UN Commission on Human Rights will be voting on candidate states for the 14 open seats on the commission; this year’s nominees include many non-democracies including Sudan, Viet Nam, and Malaysia.

To read AP coverage of the press release, click here.
To read Reuters coverage of the press release, click here.

For the July 2004 Issue of the American Prospect, Laura Rozen examines the need for UN reform and highlights the efforts underway in support of a UN Democracy Caucus and speaks to the advantages of having such a voting bloc at the UN.

To access the article from the American Prospect website, click here.