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The angst felt by mainstream conservative Republicans over the right-wing takeover of their party is understandable, but blaming the victims of this extremism is hardly a reasonable way to express it.
In "Obama's Weakness on Treaties" (Op-Ed, Dec. 19), John B. Bellinger III, the State Department legal adviser in the administration of George W. Bush, incredibly blames President Obama for the fact that Republicans voted so overwhelmingly against the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities that it fell five votes short of approval.
Mr. Bellinger acknowledges that "conservative Republicans had mischaracterized the treaty," and concedes that "an increasing number of Republicans have come to view treaties in general (especially multilateral ones) as liberal conspiracies to hand over American sovereignty to international authorities." And that paranoia has of course been reinforced in recent Republican Senate primaries. But apparently all this is the fault of President Obama because he was not able to overcome this extremism, despite having gotten all the Democratic senators to vote for the treaty.
The depth of Mr. Bellinger's drive to displace blame for Republican extremism is best illustrated by his complaint that President Obama did not submit the United Nations convention earlier. Mr. Bellinger doesn't explain why the Bush administration made no effort to get this treaty ratified — which would seem a more egregious omission than the president's failure to submit it according to Mr. Bellinger's timetable.
BARNEY FRANK
Washington, Dec. 19, 2012
The writer, a Democrat, represents Massachusetts' Fourth District in the House of Representatives.To the Editor:
The United States remains the only democracy that has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. One hundred eighty-seven countries have ratified it. Yet we refuse to guarantee equal pay for equal work or paid maternity leave in this country. Women in Cuba, Europe and Canada enjoy greater wage equality and paid maternity leave than women in the United States.
Barack Obama, before he became president, said he supported ratification of the convention. Yet he has never urged the the Senate to advise and consent to ratification.
More than 120 organizations, including the AARP, Amnesty International and the World Federalist Association, support ratification. It is time to join the community of nations and guarantee equal rights to women.
MARJORIE COHN
San Diego, Dec. 19, 2012
The writer is a professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
To the Editor:
It is commendable that John B. Bellinger III calls for the Obama administration to obtain Senate approval of more treaties, including those regarding human rights. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is such a treaty. The United States is one of only three countries that have not become a party to it. (The other holdouts are South Sudan and Somalia.)
Article 19 of the convention requires parties to take measures to protect children from physical violence. The recent massacre in Connecticut suggests that American ratification of this treaty in particular is tragically overdue.
SUSAN H. BITENSKY
East Lansing, Mich., Dec. 19, 2012
The writer is a professor at the Michigan State University College of Law.
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