VOA’s Steve Herman reports on the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ decision to accept a claim against South Korea filed by a New Zealand woman who was employed as an English teacher in the country.
He speaks a good deal with Prof. Benjamin Wagner, and is well worth the listen. Not sure the guy representing the pro-testing side did his team any favors.
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
The official speaking in Korean is incredibly rude.
“The president of the U Right Parent’s Union, Kim Jong-Il . . .” what a nasty piece of work this guy is!
What does anything associated with the UN ever accomplish?
Never heard of the Korean War I take it?
Or
UNICEF, UNCTAD, IFAD, UNESCO, UNAIDS, WHO?
How much says he’s a member of or associated with the Korean hate group formerly called Anti-English Spectrum?
Well, I’m a parent of a kid who goes to school in Korea. What concerns me most is not whether his native English teacher may or may not have AIDS, but rather how many brats there are at school who are just plain rude to him because he doesn’t look like what their parents thought them that Koreans look like.
Long story short, that “spokesperson” for parents can suck it.
one data point fails to impress. All of the following big wars have only had either several nations or nato involvement. The Korean war is a statistical freak. Look at other examples like Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uganda etc and the picture is pretty grim.
On the other hand successes (in the sense of it being a multinational effort) such as Libya, gulf war, Afghanistan, Balkans have all been American lead Nato efforts based on who was providing fire power.
Btw the Korean war was hardly a success. Also it was the USA that caused as cease fire, not the UN
Another reason to abolish the UN…fuckin’ useless corrupted cesspool
First of all, the Korean War was a success in that it led to a free ROK. The US was the main player, but don’t underestimate the contributions of the UN. I doubt America on its own would have managed to end the war at the current demarcation line; they may not have held the peninsula at all.If you want to look at other UN success stories, there is El Salvador, Guatemala, Namibia, Cambodia, Mozambique, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Burundi and the north-south conflict in the Sudan. You might even check out INTERFET and some others as well.
But why just talk about armed intervention? Lgzster seems to be under the assumption that the UN has never achieved anything (typical of many conservative US pundits). As I already mentioned, have a look at UNICEF, UNIDO, UNCTAD, IFAD, UNESCO, UNAIDS, WHO, ICAO, ITU - to name a handful. These UN bodies recruit and arm peace-keepers, provide safe drinking water to millions, monitor elections, improve literacy (particularly for girls), clear landmines, alleviate poverty, helps treat and prevent AIDS and other diseases. (The UN wiped out polio and smallpox for example – there is literature to suggest 5 million kids would have been crippled had it not been for the UN polio program).
That’s the feel-good stuff. They also do a lot of improve aviation, shipping, telecommunications and other practical stuff that requires international standards and solutions
But Fox News says the UN is useless, so it must be right?
You have a link for that ? I’m sincerely curious
The Korean war did not lead to a free ROK, ROK existed before the Korean war so do go implying that it liberated SK. Also the war never ended and is in a temporary cease fire with practically no gains, that hardly constitutes a success.
my point is that the Korean war truly had UN support… there where even turks in korea fighting the commies.
compared to all of the current conflicts that the UN participates in today are often American initiatives with nato support. Imho when it comes to armed intervention the UN has become too politicized, and as such intervention is not consistent. Remember the UN can only intervene when China, Russia, and the US agree; this does not happen often and conflicting goals have poisoned the well.
As for the UN organizations that help people, I can say any aid helps; however, I would argue the UN uses these initiatives to also further advance its political goals (which are often quite honorable in nature). This often leaves a bad aftertaste in the mouth and generates anti western sentiments. Similar to when America tries to spread American values to other countries through diplomacy, the tactic often backfires and people hate America.
People are highly nationalistic and proud of their nation, often they don’t like to hear or see some other country like America try to change what they have. Similarly when the UN does that, people reject it completely.
BTW did I ever give the impression that I don’t like the UN? Don’t get me wrong… I love the UN… its a great place to wiretap everyone. The UN building is practically in America and is a great place for convert action. I did not reject the UN, only your example.
In conclusion it is a lot more complicated than the UN is bad or good. Its a mixture of both with everything in-between. There a lot to be fixed.
PS don’t bring fox news into the argument ’cause I could then retort with “but MSNBC says the UN is all roses and sunshine, so it must be right?”
it did to some degree… with massive American and western European help. In fact based on contributions you might as well say America wiped out polio and smallpox
The UN works when America and western Europe takes the lead only to fall flat on its face when China or those other 3rd world nations hijack the UN.
The problem with the UN is that it allows problematic nations to participate.
Shin, if you follow this thread back, you’ll see that my origianl comment was in response to the remark, “What does anything associated with the UN ever accomplish?” So all my points stand.
What an absurd comment. The Korean War was fought in the face of North Korean aggression. Whether you call it liberation or protection is a moot point. 50 million Koreans are now free because of the UN and US.
Aren’t they a part of the UN? And you forgot all the other countries involved in WHO and UNICEF and the global vaccination efforts.
No, you might not.
Hey, I agree it’s got major problems – but I don’t agree that it has never accomplished anything.
It’s an estimate, Yangachi – and a fairly believable one, when you consider the numbers. (20 years, 2.5 billion kids immunized, 20 million volunteers)
By the way, it’s not my estimate. But like I said, considering the numbers seems fairly believable.
Besides, I know his native English teacher. She’s a very nice young lady with a great sense of humour. Yes, get to know your kids’ teachers. They don’t bite.
Ironically, Fox doesn’t mention that the reason the UN is at times powerless is because certain countries have permanent seats on the Security Council…one of which is the United States.
And there’s this…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_Parties_to_the_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court#United_States
Don’t blame the UN for the US, Russia, and China’s abuse of their position as permanent members of the Security Council to further their own political agendas and protect their interests.
Actually, you’re both right. South Korea was ruled by a succession of fascist governments from it’s foundation until the early 90′s. Had the UN not intervened in the Korean War, however, South Korea would be under the Kim dictatorship today.
I’m Korean and studying in the States. When I came to the States, I had to get a TB test as an international student. I mean that all international students have to have the test regardless that they already had the test in their home country, while domestic students can avoid the test by just marking “no” on a form.
When I enter some countries, I need a proof that I got some specific vaccination while domestic people don’t need it.
I just don’t get the woman’s claim.
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