u.n. and said we think there should be standards and basic requirements for membership to the human rights counciln. rejected those standards and so president bush defunded america took away its money from the human rights council to protest the tract that there were all these human rights abuses happening and they were instead not condemning it. >> there were huge howls from the left about that. when president obama came in to i guess restore moral authority was the theory he restored the money and now american taxpayers not only are you paying for attorney general holder's investigation now you get to pay for the u.n. human rights council to do the same thing. >> i'm not going to let you get away with calling this the most corrupt organization. there is unicep and there are millions of children helped every year by unicef. there are united states troops all over the world in harm's way. the united nations the first ones along with the red cross to be at sites of devastation. do not make it -- >> are you going to stand there. >> why are they there? >> because they are trying to embarrass texas an

u.n. human rights council so might we actually see that go somewhere and secretary of defense leon panetta was testifying on capitol hill again today and all the areas that are getting comfort and spending are being publicly discussed are there other areas that are quietly being beefed up let's just say that iran might have something to do with it so here that's got this with me is innocent foreign policy analyst at the cato institute who thanks so much for coming on the show tonight absolut thank you let's start we're going to get into just really quickly i want to start with the budget because we heard a lot from secretary defense leon panetta over the summer right right after this debt deal was struck we heard about the trigger mechanism he called it a doomsday it is. another kind of seemed to calm down and now they're dealing with the cuts that are coming in stride not the trigger effect yet and then we heard general martin dempsey who for the most part is somebody that i've actually respected lately in his statements because i feel like he's been calling for some cong this eventually

human rights council after israeli complaint. ishmael al ashkar was scheduled to appear before the u.n.'s human rights council in geneva. israeli ambassador says al ashkar advocating violence against israel. if we had not been part of that council, again, which many people objected to, we wouldn't have been able to have taken that action. also u.s. -- in another news report, u.s. ambassador to the u.n. -- human rights council eileen chamberlain donna who said, took a strong position, and she made the statement, "the united states on monday urged the united nations human rights council in geneva to stop its biased treatment of israel." it took particularly issue with agenda item 7 on which -- and i complaining about. and she said the united states continues to be deeply troubled by the council's bias and disproportionate focus on israel, as exemplified by the standing agenda item. i the united states became part of this council, and i want to applaud the secretary of state and yourself for taking that position. but i want to reference one other issue, and that is women and michel bachelet and what we're doing with the u.

human rights record. the u.n. human rights council has adopted a resolution expressing serious concern about ongoing violations in the country. the resolution was submitted by japan and the european union. the document highlights north korea's abductions of japanese and other foreign citizens and its torture of political prisoners and defectors. it urges north korean government to improve the human rights situation in the country. the north korean delegation denounced the resolution, as lies and fabrications. the chinese and russian representatives also expressed opposition. but the council adopted the resolution by consensus. >>> japanese government officials say they expect a silent deal to supply nuclear power technology to turkey. the agreement is a chance for japan to remain a world leader in the nuclear industry. japanese and turkish government officials held nuclear cooperation talks earlier this month. japanese officials say they reached broad agreement. japanese officials were negotiating to supply nuclear technology to five

u.n. human rights council. delegates have started discussing china's repatriation of north korean defectors. that caused the north korean party to walk out in protest, at that point the south koreans intervened with a blocking maneuver. the story received heavy media coverage in south korea. many of the reports say the confrontation in geneva helped draw attention to the serious abuse of human rights in the north. north korea called the scuffle a senseless provocation. >>> that's all we have time for this week. we close the program with scenes from the ancient japanese capital of mara in a traditional ceremony signaling the arrival of spring. the festival is held every march to pray for national stability. it's been be a served at the temple, a world heritage site for 1,200 years. each torch weighs a hefty 40 kilograms. it is believed being showered by sparks flying from the hall ensures good health during the coming year. >> thanks for watching. see you again next week on "asia see you again next week on "asia

human rights. it says the i.c.c. has been constrained for political reasons. as russia and china have vetoed u.n. security council resolutions. so instead, amnesty wants the u.n. human rights council to act, to gather evidence that will lead to eventual prosecutions. syrians should be left in no doubt, the organization says, that they will one day face justice. alan little, bbc news. >> you can get more on that story on our website. that's bbc.com/news. there's plenty more indeed also on our main story at the moment, the bus crash in switzerland. 52 people on board, most of them children, crashed in a swiss tunnel. 28 people have been killed. most of them just 12 years old. we've got the details for you and, of course, the response from belgium, as well as switzerland on the website, bbc.com/news. >> you're watching "bbc world news" with me, david eades. the headlines this hour -- 28 people, 22 of them children, have been killed in a bus crash in switzerland as they're headed home to belgium from a skiing holiday. an anxious wait for parents for parents for news of their children. the international criminal court

u.n. human rights council asking sri lanka how did intends to receive reconciliation for its people. >> her purse to the hindu deity are almost all she has at the moment. life has become a nightmare since her husband's father was snatched by eight armed men at their front door, the go. -- a month ago. >> he was screaming, calling for help. there were people in the street, but no one seemed to help. they pushed me down and date pushed him -- and they pushed him inside. after that, he vanished. >> a businessman had already been held by the police for more than two years. he said he was severely tortured in detention. just before his complaint of torture came up in the courts, he was adopted. he is not the only victim. human rights campaigners said there were 32 unexplained objections from october to february. he was taken right here at the law court. snatch from the prison guards. only five have escaped of the 32. seven have been found dead. 20 more have just vanished. then -- last year, they organized these protests with people whose loved ones disappeared. in december, in the north, they th

u.n. human rights council. it was the first time the country official appeared to the body. >> i appear to the human conscience of all who is involved in this issue for the protection of the basic human rights of those asylum seekers from the dprk. >> reporter: china's response was swift. >> translator: north korean defectors are entering china illegally. the issue does not concern the international community. >> reporter: at the session on march 12th, emotions run high, as a north korean diplomat was leaving. he assaulted a female south korean. the skirmish shows just how difficult it will be to resolve this issue. >> why are so many south koreans turning out for these protests? >> yes. they fear north korea's new leader may order more extreme punishment for defectors. authorities in china are deported many last month. protesters in seoul have rallied outside china's embassy every day since. >> what will the south korean government do next? >> yes. south korea has had talks with their chinese counterparts about

u.n. human rights council has adopted a resolution urging the sri lankan government to investigate allegations of mass murder. sri lanka's civil war ded three years ago after decades of fighting. a huge number of civilians are said to have been killed in the final stage of the conflict. we have a report from colombo. >> reporter: sri lanka's civil war came to an end after nearly 30 years of combat. tens of thousands of civilians were reportedly killed in the final phase of the struggle as government troops took control of areas held by ethnic tamarin insurgents. on thursday, they adopted a resolution urging the sri lankan government to implement the recommendations of an official domestic inquiry that called for the prosecution of soldiers guilty of misconduct. china and russia opposed the move, calling it interference in the country's domestic affairs. but the resolution was approved by a majority vote with backing from the u.s. and european nations as well as india, which has a large tamil population. the issue has sparked demonstrations in sri lanka by protesters who include supporters of p

human rights and global security are deeply and directly linked. we cannot sacrifice one without damaging both. and we have been working to use our position on the u.n. human rights council to continue standing up for universal human rights on the international scene. now, i recognize that sustainable progress on human rights and democracy can only happen from within. but we do have an obligation to help amplify those voices of those advocating for change in their own societies, including non-governmental human rights and democracy activists. in recent years, a number of governments have taken actions aimed at disempowering these groups, and today in the middle east and africa and elsewhere, governments are challenging the propriety of american support for civil society organizations. in response to these charnges, need each of you, and especially those of you operating in restrictive environments, to communicate our commitment to working with and supporting individuals and groups that represent not only what we believe are our values but universal values, freedoms and human rights. we need to be clear that this support is a fundamental part of our global human rights po

u.n. human rights council has called on trumka to investigate war crimes -- sri lanka to investigate war crimes during the conflict with tamil tiger rebels. the united states says there were not doing enough to hold to account those responsible for violations. the syrian government is reportedly continuing its assault on rebel strongholds tonight, despite a u.n. security council statement urging the withdrawal of troops from population centers so aid can reach civilians. these pictures, which have not been verified, so -- show selling -- show shelling in homs. so far, the international community has been powerless to stop this bloodshed. but our other options that have not been fully explored? i spoke to congresswoman jane harman, director of the woodrow wilson center. thank you for joining me. we keep hearing there are no good options in syria, but you talk about one possibility. >> i do. i think it is good that yesterday the u.n. security council unanimously agreed on a statement, but that is all it really was. it was a peace plan, but not a plan of action. while that was happening and again

u.n. human rights council in geneva. the council was hearing a report on north korea's human rights record. as the north koreans were leaving the meeting in protest, one of them reportedly kicked a south korean lawmaker in the knee and twisted his arm. the south koreans responded to the act. the session was delayed because of the incident. >>> a small economy that was dependent on nomads a decade ago is enjoying rapid economic development. mongolia is in transition. the program is visiting japan to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic ties. nhk world's tomoko kamata met with him to discuss what's driving his nation's economy and mongolia's cozy ties with north korea. >> reporter: this is what many people imagine when they think of mongolia, nomads corralling sheep. wide open spaces. people living the traditional lifestyles. but this still is mongolia. high-rises, designer stores, young people in fashionable clothing armed with smartphones. this country of contrasts, it's thriving. researchers at the international monetary fu

u.n. human rights council and abandoned by nearly every country that once maintained diplomatic relations with it. at the same time, assad's regime is facing a punishing array of economic sanctions by the united states, the european union, the arab league and others. measures that have targeted the asets of assad and his henchmen, cut off the central bank and other financial institutions, grounded serious cargo flights and restricted the regime's ability to sell oil. this has been an impressive international effort, and the administration deserves a lot of credit for helping the problem is the bloodletting continues. despite years of diplomacy backed by sanctions, assad and his top lieutenants show no signs of giving up to take the path into foreign exile. to the contrary, they appear to be accelerating their fight to the finish, and they're doing so with the shameless support of foreign governments, especially in russia, china and iran. a steady supply of weapons, ammunition and other assistance is flowing to assad from moscow and tehran, and as "the washington post" reported yesterday,

u.n. human rights council on iran and our close coordination with mexican authorities actually was instrumental in breaking up the assassination plot against the saudi ambassador. i think we are alert to this, we are watching it closely, we are building a very strong and hemispheric coalition against any efforts by iran and hezbollah in our area. >> thank you, ma'am ddam secret. i yield back my time. >> the obama administration is the first administration to use congressly mandated -- you deserve considerably praise for that, i know that the president and you and numerous officials at state, at treasury at dpoef have put in thousands of hours trying to persuade foreign officials and foreign businessmen to respect our sanctions and to isolate iran. all for the purpose of implementing a policy intended to lead iran to abandon their weapons program. i think it would be helpful to put to rest that the administration is resigned to iran becoming a nuclear threshold state. i think it's very important to reassure us on that point. based on my understanding of the administration's policy, i think you s

u.n. human rights council i will on iran and our close ordination with mexican authorities actually was instrumental in breaking up the assassination plot against the saudi ambassador. so i think, madam chairman, we are alert to this. we are watching it closely. we are building a very strong international and hemispheric coalition against any efforts by iran and hezbollah in our area. >> thank you, madam secretary. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. berman. >> thank you very much. the obama administration is the first administration to use congressionally mandated sanctions on iran in a robust way. and you deserve considerable praise for that. i know that the president and you and numerous officials at state, treasury, defense have put in literally thousands of hours trying to persuade foreign officials and foreign businessmen to respect our sanctions and to help isolate iran. in that regard, i think it would be helpful to put to rest concerns of some observers that the administration has resigned to iran's becoming a nuclear tl threshold state. three months ago the israeli deputy minister iss

u.n. human rights council in geneva overwhelmingly passed a strong resolution, which is the council's fourth, essentially describing the situation in syria as man made humanitarian disaster. and we all know the identity of the man responsible for that disaster. these are just some of the examples of regional and international resolve. but nevertheless, as both of you have described, we have also seen the assad regime has intensified its vicious attacks against the syrian people. the situation is, frankly, including indiscriminate artillery fire against entire neighborhoods. and today's reports from homs are truly alarming. large numbers of syrians are living every day under siege, deprived of basic necessities including food, clean water and medical supplies. women and children are wounded and dying for lack of treatment. innocent people are detained and tortured and their families left to fear the worst. yet despite the regime's brutality, the people of syria demonstrate enormous courage. their determination to continue protesting for their rights, mostly still peaceful protests, is an insp

u.n. human rights council of israel to reverse its settlement policy in the west bank the country fiercely rejects the decision. i watch dramatic footage right here on american helicopter crash in afghanistan just last month remarkably no one is. with all of the other best videos we have. these are the images. corporation. israel says there's no agreement with washington or what would be the right time to stop iran from getting a nuclear weapon the u.s. military meanwhile has concluded that an israeli strike on iran would spill into a regional war that would leave hundreds of people dead. of war would spell disaster not just for america but also for israel. there's been an ongoing campaign for the last couple months in which the u.s. military is leaking information about a how dangerous it would be if the israelis were to attack iran how counterproductive it would be and what it would do to the united states because it would drag the us into a war. its main objective is really difficult to achieve militarily if not impossible so this is a way also for the military military to push back and

u.n. human rights council to get involved. ell, the former ambassador to the human rights commission, thank you so much for being here. your reaction now to apparently some groups are so upset with these laws that require people to show a photo i.d. that they are going to the united nations. >> they are going to the human rights council, a council that's composed of nations like china and russia and cuba, they have had the likes of venezuela, and the southern sudan. these are pair gones of freedom and democracy. i say with tongue and cheek. look, the voter i.d. laws that are popping up across the country that are based on the indiana voter i.d. law will be found constitutional by the supreme court. what the justice department is using is section 5 of the voting rights act which gives them -- gives them the authority to prescreen any move in the voter voting laws in states that fall under their jurisdiction. megyn: they have a history of discrimination. >> many of these states have made tremendous progress in voting rights laws

u.n. human rights council urges israel to reverse its settlement policy in the west bank but the country rejectsthe decision. dramatic footage just emerged of a u.s. helicopter crash in afghanistan last month the amazing thing is and check this out nobody gets hurt in this accident don't forget you can find all this and much more at our you tube. these are the images. from the streets of canada. trying to corporations rule the day. israel says no agreement with washington on what would be the right timeline for stopping iran from getting a nuclear weapon and u.s. military meanwhile has concluded that an israeli strike on iran would spill into a regional war that would leave hundreds of americans dead author trita parsi says a war would spell disaster not just for the u.s. but israel too. there's been an ongoing campaign for the last couple months in which the u.s. military is leaking information about how dangerous it would be if the israelis were to attack iran how counterproductive it would be and what it would do to the united states because it would drag the us into a war. its main objective

u.n. is looking into america's vote are i.d. laws, a human rights council. that includes dictatorships that until recently did not let women vote, and, one member, yes, that bars women from voting at all, well the n human rights counsel is investigating america's election laws. and the meeting is held in.navy -- in geneva and they are telling diplomats why voter i.d.'s should be banned and opponents say the i.d.'s discriminate against minorities and suppress the vote but supporters state i.d.'s prevent voter fraud and two americans were sent to tell the council they are worried about voting in november, one a texas college student says he has only an out state driver's license and not a texas state-issued i.d. and naacp executive vice president said the vote are i.d. issue be on the world stage. >> do you think the u.n. should be involved in domestic laws? >>guest: not specifically but in best practice for the world. including the united states. clearly we have come a long way. i would argue we are the greatest country on the face of the earth but we could b

the u.n., human rights council is investigating this, everybody. wipe the sweat off your brow.e to an easy answer of what is going on. instead of investigating human rightrights in north korea and china, they will investigate this. >> bob: i did a race for harvey, against jesse helms, they sent out a phony letter from the justice department saying they place five-year penalty, $5,000 fine. i see that no different between that and this of what the right wingers of texas did. simple as that. dew press the democratic votes. plain d simple. >> eric: 31 31 states have voter i.d. law. >> greg: if you show it stops voting i'd agree. >> kimberly: there is no evidence to support that. >> greg: they say it's a huge burden because you force people to pay to get other proof of i.d. to get voter i.d. you need a copy of your birth certificate, which is like $20. this is a mistake that the left is making about modulation. they call this untenable burden. this is the same argument with pills. $9 a month. americans are tired of hearing this is an impossible struggle. >> eric: check out this pol

u.n. human rights council condemn syria's widespread and systematic violations against civilians.ow, maryland becomes the latest state to approve same-sex marriage. the district of columbia already allows same-sex marriages. five others have laws providing for civil unions. >>> all right. remember these disturbing images? these are disturbing images that fed drag regulators want tobacco companies to put on packaging. now a federal law requiring them violates the free speech. they call it bad for public health. government appeal is also expected. >>> want to go to harrisburg right now. this is a town still reeling from the shock of a tornado strike and there is so much work ahead. don lemon joins us. you're at a new location now where i understand people are just trying to get through the day, trying to clean up and assess and figure out what to do next. don? >> reporter: yes, they are. and we were just a couple of minutes ago, suzanne, in a residential neighborhood. now we're in a commercial area and this is why i'm holding these. because this was a sports store. there are footbal

u.n. the human rights council of israel to reverse its policy in the west bank the country furiously rejects the decision. also this dramatic footage i just emotion of an american helicopter crash in afghanistan last month where remarkably no one was hurt. and many more videos on our own see you tube channel. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. china operations to rule the day. in about a tenuous time it's katie with the markets but for now israel says there's no agreement with washington on what would be the right time to stop iran from getting a nuclear weapon and u.s. military meanwhile has concluded that an israeli strike on iran would spill into a regional war that would leave hundreds of americans dead or thought trita parsi so those of war would spell disaster not just for america but for israel as well has been ongoing campaign for the last couple of months in which the u.s. military is leaking information about how dangerous it would be if the israelis were to attack iran how counterproductive it would be and what it would do to be that it's be

u.n. human rights council who had a special report on iran. who is the head of the judiciary, and the head of the human rights division heard the report about iran, spent all of his time on pastor youcef nadarkhani and said, no it's not that he's that he left islam and became a christian, it's because he has a house church, because he proselytized miners and offended islam. even though we have religious freedom, because he said jesus is the only way to heaven he's offended islam and that's why he's on trial. first time iran said it's all about religion. martha: now that they have the charges that relate to his christianity, does it make it harder or easier for them to let him go or back off of in in any way? >> reporter: i think it makes it a little easier to back off a little bit. it's not just the west, or the white house, the state department or europe, but it's countries that iran relies on diplomatically and economically. brazil cannot be lied to again. they did lie to the government of brazil. we had a document given to us by a senator sa

u.n. human rights council in geneva overwhelmingly passed the strong resolution essentially describing the situation in syria is a man-made humanitarian disaster and we all know the identity of the man responsible for that disaster. these are just some of the examples of regional and international resolve. but nevertheless, as both of you have described, with also seen the outside regime has intensified a vicious campaign of attacks against the syrian people. the situation is frankly horrific. including indiscriminate artillery fire against entire neighborhoods. today's reports from homs are alarming. large numbers this year and a every day under siege. deprived of basic necessities, including food, clean water and medical supplies. women and children are wounded and dying for lack of treatment. innocent people are detained and tortured and their families left to fear the worst. yet despite the regime's brutality, the people of syria demonstrate enormous courage. their determination to continue protesting for their rights, mostly still peaceful protest is an inspiration and a testimony to

human rights. they say that the icc has been constrained for political reasons. russia and china have vetoed a u.n. security council resolutions. instead, amnesty would like to human-rights council to act to gather evidence that lead to prosecution spent the syrians involved in torture should be left in no doubt, the organization says, that they will one day face justice. the >> for more on the crisis in syria one year since the first protest erupted, i spoke to a professor and author of "the arab uprising." thank you for being with us. let's talk about this idea for the call for syrian officials to be taken to the international criminal court. this is something that you have advocated. what are the chances of it happening and what impact do you think it could have? >> it has greater chances that a lot of people believe. it is true that you probably need to go through the security council but you have russia holding the line on stopping military intervention, which the u.s. does not want, and would be a terrible idea. they might be willing to trade that off for something like a referral to the icc. if you have read

u.n. human rights council and abandoned by nearly every country that once maintained diplomatic relations with it. at the same time, assad's regime is facing a punishing array of economic sanctions by the united states, the european union, the arab league and others. measures that have targeted the asets of assad and his henchmen, cut off the central bank and other financial institutions, grounded serious cargo flights and restricted the regime's ability to sell oil. this has been an impressive international effort, and the administration deserves a lot of credit for helping to orchestrate it. the problem is the bloodletting continues. despite years of diplomacy backed by sanctions, assad and his top lieutenants show no signs of giving up to take the path into foreign exile. to the contrary, they appear to be accelerating their fight to the finish, and they're doing so with the shameless support of foreign governments, especially in russia, china and iran. a steady supply of weapons, ammunition and other assistance is flowing to assad from moscow and tehran, and as "the washington post" r

human rights and global security are deeply and directly linked. we cannot sacrifice one without damaging both. and we have been working to use our position on the u.n. human rights council to continue standing up for universal human rights on the international scene. now, i recognize that sustainable progress on human rights and democracy can only happen from within. but we do have an obligation to help amplify those voices of those advocating for change in their own societies, including nongovernmental human rights and democracy activists. in recent years, a number of governments have taken actions aimed at disempowering these groups, and today in the middle east and north africa, and elsewhere, governments are challenging the propirate of american support for civil society associations. ... a lot of the countries have legitimate questions and particularly a lot of the transition new democracies, so i don't think we can assume anything. we need to be very humble in making our case and to do so effectively and consistently. for much of the past decade we focused by necessity on places where threats and instability are greatest. in the decade ahead we must also be just u

human rights in a global security are deeply and directly linked. we cannot sacrifice one without damaging both. and we have been working to use our position on the u.n. human rights council to continue standing up for universal human rights on the international scene. now i recognize that sustainment -- sustainable progress on human rights and democracy can only happen from within. but we do have an obligation to help amplify those voices of those advocating for change in their own societies, including non-governmental, human rights, and democracy activists. in recent years, a number of governments have taken actions aimed at disempowering these groups. and today in the middle east and north africa and elsewhere, governments are challenging the propriety of american support civil -- support for civil society organizations. in response to these charges, i need each of you, especially those of the operating in restricted environment, to communicate our commitment to working with and supporting individuals and groups that represent not only what we believe our our values, but universal values, freedoms, and human rights. we need to be clear that this support is a fundamenta

u.n. human rights council and abandoned by nearly every country that once maintained diplomatic relationstime, assad's regime is facing a punishing array of economic sanctions by the united states, the european union, the arab league and others. measures that have targeted the asets of assad and his henchmen, cut off the central bank and other financial institutions, grounded serious cargo flights and restricted the regime's ability to sell oil. this has been an impressive international effort, and the administration deserves a lot of credit for helping to orchestrate it. the problem is the bloodletting continues. despite years of diplomacy backed by sanctions, assad and his top lieutenants show no signs of giving up to take the path into foreign exile. to the contrary, they appear to be accelerating their fight to the finish, and they're doing so with the shameless support of foreign governments, especially in russia, china and iran. a steady supply of weapons, ammunition and other assistance is flowing to assad from moscow and tehran, and as "the washington post" reported yesterday, ira