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Reuters-UN rights body set to vote



Subject: Reuters-UN rights body set to vote on China amd Cuba 

UN rights body set to vote on China amd Cuba
12:17 p.m. Apr 22, 1999 Eastern
By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, April 22 (Reuters) - The United Nations main human rights body on
Friday votes on a slew of resolutions amid a politically heated debate
dominated by a U.S. text targetting alleged repression in China, diplomats
said.

Colombia, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Israel, and
Myanmar are among other countries under the spotlight for alleged
violations, they said.

But Nigeria, on course for a democratic transition after years of military
rule, appears set to be dropped from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights
``list of the damned,'' they added.

Some 60 resolutions on specific countries and general themes are due to be
considered at the 53-member state forum on Friday.

China is expected to try to quash all debate on its record over the past
year by presenting its own resolution for ``no action'' to be taken on the
U.S. text, diplomats said.

The U.S. text expresses concern about alleged abuses of fundamental
freedoms, singling out unfair trials, harsh sentences and ``increased
restrictions'' in Tibet.

China's delegation is likely to succeed in convincing the member states to
approve its motion, meaning that the U.S. resolution will not even come to a
vote, diplomats said.

``The vote on China's no-action motion will be closer than last year, but is
expected to carry,'' said one.

China has escaped Western attempts to censure it at the U.N. body in Geneva
every year since 1990, the first Commission session that followed the
student killings at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June 1989.

Western states have denounced China's use of a ``no action'' motion -- a
tactic which Iran may adopt this year to try to silence criticism, according
to some envoys.

Another Western diplomat said: ``The seven European Union states who are
members of the Commission this year will vote against China's no-action
motion.''

``The seven are also prepared to vote for the U.S. text on China, but I
doubt the debate will get that far,'' he added.

In a stunning diplomatic defeat for Washington, the U.N. Commission on Human
Rights last year defeated a U.S. resolution expressing concern for
violations in Cuba.

This year, the Czech Republic and Poland have tabled a text on Cuba, which
diplomats said had won 15 co-sponsors including the United States.

The text welcomes some steps towards opening Cuba to religious institutions,
but expresses concern about the ``continued repression of members of the
political opposition and about the detention of dissidents.''

African states, meanwhile, have lobbied for dropping the U.N. special
investigator on Nigeria, and have tabled a resolution commending profound
changes.

In a speech to the Commission last month, Nigerian Foreign Minister Ignatius
Olisemeka urged it to drop its investigation of his country, saying the
government had released all political prisoners and taken other steps
towards democracy.