Op-ed: Washington’s phobia of global treaties
December 23rd, 2007Why reject pacts to help the disabled or ban land mines?
By Karl F. Inderfurth in the Christian Science Monitor.
The “America unbound” approach is making the US the odd man out on critical global issues. In March of this year, a new human rights treaty was opened for signature at the United Nations, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The convention would ensure that people around the world with disabilities enjoy the same rights as everyone else to equal protection before the law, and in work and education opportunities.
… The treaty had the largest number of first-day signatories in the history of the UN – 81. Today that number is 119. The US is not one of them.
… “Just saying no” is not the kind of leadership that many expect of the US, either at home or abroad. By joining other countries to establish mutually binding agreements, the US could seize the opportunity to demonstrate that it is truly committed to working with the international community to solve global problems.
Inderfurth, a professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, was the US special representative of the president and the secretary of state for global humanitarian demining from 1997-98.
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