From BNI online, July 26:

United States Senators are holding up Burma as an example of a country that should draw international attention regarding human rights abuses, as opposed to Israel, in their continuing opposition to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

"The truth is that members of the Council are too busy trying to protect themselves from criticism for their own human rights abuses and taking political shots at Israel," said Republican Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota on Wednesday. "You've got countries like North Korea, Burma, Zimbabwe where you have state-sponsored brutality, and what we have is deafening silence."

Sen. Coleman, along with Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, sits as a Congressional Delegate to the United Nations. Sen. Boxer joins Sen. Coleman in condemnation of the Council's work and in advocating that the United States government deny financial support to the Council.

The State Department has also released statements pointing to Burma as one of the "worst of the worst" cases for state-sponsored human rights abuses, while claiming that the Council's energies are unnecessarily drained by focusing on Israel.

Supporters of withholding funds for the Human Rights Council acknowledge that the absence of 3 million dollars in funds is unlikely to have any significant impact on the workings of the Council, serving instead as a political gesture highlighting the United States position regarding the workings of the Council.

Neither the United States nor Burma is party to the Council.

The House of Representatives has already passed similar legislation.