Jubilee Post News & Views
# Saudi Arabia misses out
# China gets the seats despite opposition over abysmal records
Special Desk
China, Russia and Cuba could win seats on the UN’s premiere human rights body despite opposition from activist groups over their abysmal human rights records. Saudi Arabia lost the chance.
Russia and Cuba were running unopposed, but China and Saudi Arabia were in a five-way race in the only contested race for seats on the Human Rights Council. In a secret ballot in the 193-member UN General Assembly on that race, Pakistan received 169 votes, Uzbekistan 164, Nepal 150, China 139 and Saudi Arabia just 90 votes.
Despite announced reform plans by Saudi Arabia, Human Rights Watch and others strongly opposed its candidacy saying the Middle East nation continues to target human rights defenders, dissidents and women’s rights activists and has demonstrated little accountability for past abuses.
Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, the organisation founded by Khashoggi, said despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin on public relations “to cover his grotesque abuses, the international community just isn’t buying it.”
“Unless Saudi Arabia undertakes dramatic reforms to release political prisoners, end its disastrous war in Yemen and allow its citizens meaningful political participation, it will remain a global pariah,” Whitson said.
Under the Human Rights Council’s rules, seats are allocated to regions to ensure geographical representation.
Four countries won four Africa seats — Ivory Coast, Malawi, Gabon and Senegal. Russia and Ukraine won the two East European seats. In the Latin American and Caribbean group, Mexico, Cuba and Bolivia won the three open seats. And Britain and France won the two seats for the Western European and others group.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the election of China, Russia and Cuba and last year’s election of Venezuela – “countries with abhorrent human rights records” – further validate the US withdrawal from the council.
