No one will ever be shocked by the proceedings of UN bodies, but the UN Human Rights Council's recent behaviour is pretty scandalous.

The Council, don't forget, was set up to replace the Commission in order, supposedly, to bring some sense to its proceedings. Dream on.

This Jerusalem Post report shows that the Council is just as perverse:

So how does the new council conclude this pivotal year? By removing two known human rights abusers, Cuba and Belarus, from its roster of "special mandates," and by enshrining Israel as the only country in the world to receive permanent scrutiny. The council had inherited nine such "special mandates," regarding countries like North Korea, Cambodia, and Sudan - and of course, Israel.

...The other mandates all concern the "situation" in each place, leaving the council free to consider and criticize both sides of a conflict. In Israel's case, the council mandated itself only to consider Israeli actions, and not those of Palestinians, thereby rendering the whole exercise biased by definition. Further, only Israel is convicted in advance, since the mandate concerns Israeli "violations," rather than entertaining the possibility that Israel is acting according to its legitimate rights and responsibilities.

Do read the rest of the story for an account of how this happened, and the role played by Canada in seeking some justice and sense.