The U.N. Prepares for Durban III

On Wednesday, the U.N. General Assembly elected Iran one of its vice presidents and Qatar as president, each for a year-long term starting in September. At one and the same time the Obama State Department has been blanketing the airwaves with speeches on this administration’s love affair with the UN under the title “principled engagement.” But with Wednesday’s U.N. elections, what kind of principles might the Obama administration be talking about?

In theory, the mission of the General Assembly includes making “recommendations for the purpose of…assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” But that’s only in theory