After the General Assembly readmitted Yugoslavia to the United Nations, American representative Richard Holbrooke warned President Vojislav Kostunica that, as a U.N. member, Yugoslavia was now obligated to turn Slobodan Milosevic and others over to an international war crimes tribunal. But other U.N. members harbor criminals far worse than Milosevic. Osama bin Laden, the world's most infamous terrorist, lives in Afghanistan, for example. In fact, many U.N. members refuse to abide by the rules that they claimed to accept when they became U.N. members. There is an egregious abuse of human rights in Afghanistan, particularly against women.
Human slavery is permitted in Sudan and other African countries.
The Congo's government has incited, not just permitted, ethnic bloodbaths. Holbrooke's admonitions should include those countries. Or, better yet, he could demand membership for a little democracy that abides by all of the U.N. human rights principles and has never threatened any neighbors. Afghanistan is a member and Taiwan is not. Holbrooke, like the United Nations itself, lacks consistency.