Saudi Arabia narrowly failed in its bid to win a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, a blow to Riyadh’s efforts to boost the country’s rights reputation abroad, four years after it was rejected in a 2020 bid to join the 47-member body. The Asia-Pacific group, which included Saudi Arabia, was the only competitive race on Wednesday, with six candidates vying for five seats. To the dismay of human rights groups, Saudi Arabia was chosen in March to chair a UN commission that is supposed to promote gender equality and empower women around the world. While the Human Rights Council does not have legally binding powers, its meetings raise scrutiny and it can mandate investigations to document abuses, which sometimes form the basis for war crimes prosecutions. It was created in 2006 to replace a human rights commission discredited because of some members’ poor rights records.

Source: The Guardian October 10, 2024 23:12 UTC