Human Rights CouncilThe Human Rights Council of the United Nations has finally become a reality. After months of negotiations, the U.N. General Assembly voted on March 15 to accept a resolution creating a new body to replace the Human Rights Commission, discredited because it granted membership to s

Fresh Canadian AirThe Canadian Religious Conference, which represents more than 200 orders of men and women, in January presented to the bishops of Canada an exhaustive analysis of the situation of the church in that country. They outlined points of satisfaction and regret, and provided a wish-list

Silver Medal Losers?How to explain the disappointing performance of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in the television ratings, the lowest since 1968? Perhaps this year’s Olympic hopefuls were simply too hyped. When everyone is touted as a future gold medalist, anything less is seen as a loss. Or

Continuing EmbarrassmentThe Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba has increasingly become an embarrassment for the United States. In mid-February, a team of five inspectors from the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva issued a lengthy report documenting human rights violations alleged to be ta