[JURIST] The UN General Assembly Third Committee [official website] on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs has approved a draft resolution [PDF] calling for an end to politically motivated condemnations of countries for human rights violations. The resolution, adopted Thursday, says that human rights protection should be "guided by the principles of universality, non-selectivity, impartiality and objectivity and should be not used for political purposes". The measure was approved by a vote of 77-63 vote and will next be presented to the General Assembly for a final vote.

The resolution was sponsored by Belarus [JURIST news archive; Foreign Ministry press release] and Uzbekistan [JURIST news archive], both of which been accused of extensive human rights violations in the past. China, Cuba, North Korea, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe were co-sponsors. The United States along with many European countries oppose the resolution, saying it favors nations that are long-term rights violators. AP has more.