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(JTA) There is an unbalanced focus on Israel by the United Nations Human Rights Council, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told its members. No one in this room can deny that there is an unbalanced focus on one democratic country, Kerry said in an address to the council on Monday, March 2, in Geneva.

It must be said the HRCs obsession with Israel actually risks undermining the credibility of the entire organization, he added, citing the fact that only Israel is a permanent agenda item on the councils schedule.

We will oppose any effort by any group or participant in the U.N. system to arbitrarily and regularly delegitimize or isolate Israel, Kerry told the council. When it comes to human rights no country on earth should be free from scrutiny, but neither should any country be subject to unfair or unfounded bias.

During his speech, Kerry also denounced human rights abuses in Syria, North Korea and Ukraine.

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Kerry decries Human Rights Councils obsession with Israel

Photo: John Vink / Magnum photos Editors Note: This story is a chapter in The New Global Journalism: Foreign Correspondence in Transition, a report from Columbia Universitys Tow Center for Digital Journalism.

When The Washington Posts new owner, Jeff Bezos, met the newsroom for the first time in September of 2013, he mentioned two recent Post stories that hed found particularly intriguing.

The first was a human-interest feature on the death of a bouncer, the kind of richly descriptive narrative that has been a Post hallmark for decades. But Bezos other favorite was something of a surprise: a 2,800-word piece published in the Posts foreign affairs blog, headlined 9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask.

Conceived and reported in Washington by a Post digital journalist, and written for an online audience, the Syria piece addressed readers in a conversational tone rarely, if ever, used in traditional foreign reporting. If you arent exactly sure why Syria is fighting a civil war, or even where Syria is located, wrote blogger Max Fisher, this is the article for you. No need to feel embarrassed, he continued. Whats happening in Syria is really important, but it can also be confusing and difficult to follow even for those of us glued to it.

Even without the newsroom plug from Bezos, 9 questions was already grabbing attention inside and outside the Post. 9 questions got over three million pageviews on WorldViews, the foreign news blog that is one of the papers main experiments in international digital journalism. Compare that to the potential audience for a top international story in the print newspaper: About 475,000 subscribers receive it, and on a good day a single foreign desk article might get another 100,000 pageviews online.

So, is 9 questions the future of international news: breezy, digital-first, and written by someone in an office thousands of miles from the scene? Perhaps the best answer is, its a piece of the hybrid that is foreign news reporting today at the Post and other mainstream organizations committed to serious international coverage.

In at least two legacy newsrooms, The Washington Post and The New York Times, journalists who dont leave the office are daily contributors to the foreign report, aggregating, curating, and yes, doing original reportingfor WorldViews at the Post, and for The New York Times Open Source column by Robert Mackey.

Their varied labelsblog, columnhint at the uncertainty that hangs over traditional foreign desks in this transitional age. Each of those digital features offers interesting, innovative reporting. Each is part of mainstream medias push to expand international reporting beyond the traditional foreign correspondent model and appeal to more online readers. But whether these new models will prove as durable as the traditional one depends on factors that foreign desks didnt have to worry about in the past: Can they draw a strong, sustainable audience? And can they play a part in resolving the economic crisis that has caused so many mainstream organizations to axe their foreign bureaus?

Shuttered bureaus

Between 1998 and 2011, at least 20 US newspapers and other media outlets eliminated all their foreign bureaus, according to American Journalism Review (ajr). Elsewhere, the number and size of those bureaus of have shrunk dramatically.

More here:
The foreign desk in transition

Local and State News

Johnson is the former director of South Carolina Equality, a post she held from 2010-12. She also is a former two-term member of the Utah House of Representatives, a former vice president of external affairs with Planned Parenthood and a former vice chairwoman on Salt Lake Citys human rights commission, among a host of other positions and accolades.

While there are few who would question Johnsons political and advocacy credentials, there are some specifically City Councilman Cameron Runyan and Common Cause South Carolina Executive Director John Crangle who are questioning exactly what her role is in helping shepherd the citys human rights ordinance along.

Runyan and Crangle claim Johnson is operating as a lobbyist, despite the fact that she is not registered to lobby the city. Johnson straightforwardly denies those claims, noting she is working as a consultant to the city.

The citys Feb. 24 agenda for the human rights ordinance ad hoc committee meeting lists Johnson as a Human Rights Commission Consultant. Free Times obtained a copy of the contract Johnson signed with the City of Columbia. That document lists her as an independent contractor.

According to the contract which is signed by Johnson and City Manager Teresa Wilson Johnson is to be paid not more than $19,500 for her human rights work. That includes $1,500 at the execution of the contract and $3,000 per month from January through June.

Johnsons contract says she is to assist Council, the city manager, the city attorney and the chief of police with establishing and securing passage of a human rights ordinance, and assist in creating the subsequent human rights commission.

The contract also calls for Johnson to help establish procedures to enforce anti-discrimination laws, and to assist Council in identifying and vetting candidates to serve on the commission, among many other duties.

Crangle says, in his mind, Johnsons role with the city would constitute lobbying.

It seems to me that the purpose of her employment is to promote this human rights ordinance, Crangle says. Thats advocacy and thats lobbying activity. She is trying to influence the making of public policy on behalf of a client. Thats definitely what lobbying is.

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Critics Say Human Rights Consultant Is An Unregistered Lobbyist