Robinson accuses US of ignoring world’s poor

THE UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson has accused the United States of trying to scale back plans to save the world’s poorest people.

In a stinging attack at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, the former Irish president said US officials were trying to exclude important rights from the treaty which would benefit the poor and save the environment.

Environmentalists were hopeful the final summit agreement would contain commitments on human rights which would make governments responsible for providing the poor with adequate nutrition, healthcare, education and living standards.