How the UN failed Human Rights and How Africa failed itself

Many people are convinced that countries must voluntarily agree on cutting the emissions of CO2 in order to minimize the impact of climate change. One of the biggest dilemmas of climate change is that the problem of global warming being a universal one and therefore it emerges to be very difficult to monitor the actions of all nations across the globe. Therefore, the United Nations –which sees itself the global police –wants all concerned parties to agree on predetermined targets. Their argument is simply to save the world from itself. But I have a problem with the United Nations, on the one hand and the African Leaders on the other hand.

My dissatisfaction with the UN stems from its lack of willingness and/or inability to safeguard the basic human rights of citizens of the World they want to save. What is the use of this globe without the Human Race? One can cite a great number of different people living in dire situation throughout the globe. Be it Uighurs oppressed in their own land, Palestinians evicted from their own homes or Ogadens terrorized by TPLF of Meles Zenawi, and many more in all continents of the world oppressed by dictators.

Or is it that, as the common sense tells me, UN only represents the interests of some people. Why is it only active when the Washington Administration wants it to act and silent when Washington wants it to be passive? Why don’t they ring a bell when they know the tyrant Meles Zenawi is coming to attend Copenhagen Climate Conference? If they are honest why do they bark when the Danish government sends, as part of its host obligations, an invitation to the president of Sudan, Umar Al-Bashir. Why all these discrimination. Is the UN only for some? Then why talk about in the name of the whole world. All these will only lead to many questions than answers.

More worse than the silence of the UN is the African Union who failed the good ones among us (and all of us) when they chose the tyrant Meles to represent the whole African Continent in the high profile conference where Africa is one of the top agendas. How can one of Africans worst dictators speak on behalf of Africa’s more than one billion people in 52 countries? Obviously, those who decided Meles to be the spokesperson of the continent either do not know him or are worse than him; I think for most of them the later is true! This is a dictator who believes, by his own words, in bullets rather the ballot. He is the one who ordered the massacre of thousands Somalis in the Ogaden. He is the butcher of Addis Ababa, Gambella, Dhagaxbuur, Lebiga, Awasa, and Mogadishu. He is the main reason of instability in the horn of Africa. He is the obstacle of the Hague court decision on Ethio-Eretrea case. Yet Africa rewards him to be their model in the eyes of the world. That is a slap in the face to all of us Africans, as if there is no better than him. May be they were listening the likes of David Shinn whom I suspect is employed by TPLF. I wonder why they did not choose Robert Mogabe because at least Mogabe has not killed as many people as Meles despite being longer time in office.

No matter what the outcome of the COP15 conference will be, there is one fact that I want the UN and African leaders to know: the people of Ogaden and the many others terrorized by Meles and his TPLF feel that you already let them down by ignoring this thug’s serious criminal against humanity and instead letting him represent Africa. However, you can still undo your mistakes by distancing yourselves from this criminal and sending him to the international tribunal court in The Hague. Otherwise your inaction will only prove how untrue you are to your own word.

SAAFI LABAFIDHIN.