South Africa supported the nomination of Libya to chair...

South Africa supported the nomination of Libya to chair the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights, Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma told Parliament.
UN sanctions are still in place against Libya following the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland. And Human Rights Watch says that in recent years, UN human rights bodies have expressed concern about developments in Libya, including extrajudicial and summary executions by state agents, the high incidence of arbitrary arrest, the imposition of the death penalty for political and economic offences, the use of torture and lack of judicial independence.
"We have good signs from the African Union (AU) and New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) that human rights are on the agenda for Africa. It is a pity that the choice of Libya seems to be going way back in the other direction," said Steve Crawshaw, the London director of Human Rights Watch.
Democratic Alliance MP Colin Eglin asked Dlamini-Zuma whether Libya's human rights record was in line with the principles of the AU and Nepad.
Dlamini-Zuma replied that the principle of "equitable geographic distribution" was recognised in the charter of the UN, and was applied to the chairmanship of bodies such as its commission on human rights. This meant that the chair rotated between different geographic areas. It was Africa's turn next year. She said Africa rotated its nominations between northern and southern regions. As SA held the chair in 1999, it was now the turn of a north African country.
"Only two states within the African group announced their candidacy for the chair of the commission Algeria and Libya. Algeria subsequently withdrew. As there was thus only one candidate, the Libyan nomination was unanimously endorsed by the African Union council of ministers," she said.
Dlamini-Zuma did not comment on whether Libya's behaviour was consistent with standards set by the AU and Nepad.