Saudi Arabia fails in bid for seat on UN Human Rights Council

Saudi Arabia failed in its attempt to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the next three-year term starting on January 1, while China, Russia and Cuba were elected on Tuesday in a vote that caused an outcry among human rights defenders. Russia and Cuba ran unopposed in the UN General Assembly election. Saudi Arabia and China vied for membership in a five-nation race for four spots with Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Nepal. Pakistan received 169 votes, Uzbekistan 164, Nepal 150, China 139 and Saudi Arabia 90 votes – ending Riyadh’s bid to again be a member of the UN’s top human rights body. Fifteen countries were elected to the 47-nation council on Tuesday. Human Rights Watch has described China and Saudi Arabia as “two of the world’s most abusive governments“. The New York-based group also singled out numerous war crimes in the Syrian war as making Russia a highly problematic candidate. Experts say with a number of countries with questionable rights records being elected, the current system of entry to UNHRC is in serious need of reform. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">