The most important fact in Washing ton’s failure on Thursday to be re-elected for the first time since 1947 to the U. N. Human Rights Commission is that it as America’ friends, not its enemies, that engineered the defeat. After all, China and Cuba and other targets of U.S.-led criticism in the committee were always going to vote and lobby against Washington; the shock came in the fact that the European and other Western nations that traditionally ensured U.S. Re-election turned their backs on Washington.

　　Many traditional U.S. supporters clearly withdrew their vote to signal displeasure over U.S. unilateralism. They have been increasingly chagrined by Washington’s tendency to ignore the international consensus on issue ranging from the use of land mines to the Kyoto climate change treaty. They are also critical of what they see ass Washington’s tendency to publicise the issue of human rights, using annual resolutions at the committee to denounce China or Cuba hen that conforms to U.S. foreign policy objectives but for the same reason voting alone in defence of Israel when that country is in the dock over its conduct.

　　【参考译文】

　　周四，美国自1947年以来首次未能入选联合国****委员会，其中重要的一点在于这回促成了其落选的是美国的盟友，而不是美国的敌人。联合国****委员会中，中国、古巴以及其他美国横加指责的国家总是会投华盛顿的反对票的。令人震惊的是欧洲国家以及其他一些通常都赞同美国入选的西方国家这次也倒戈转向。许多通常支持美国的国家不再投出赞成票，显然是要表达对美国单边主义的不满。无论是使用地雷问题，还是京都议定书，美国常常对国际共识置之不理，使这些国家越来越愤怒，同时他们也指责美国是在利用****问题大做文章，只要符合外交政策的宗旨，美国就利用每年****委员会的决议来诋毁中国和古巴，但当以色列因其所作所为四面楚歌时，美国会投出唯一的赞成票表示声援。