September 26 (IPS) –
CIVICUS discusses the upcoming election of recent members to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council with Madeleine Sinclair, Director and Authorized Counsel of the Worldwide Service for Human Rights (ISHR) New York Workplace.
The Human Rights Council performs a significant function in addressing world human rights points and offers a platform for activists and victims of violations. Its 47 members symbolize numerous regional teams. In October, 19 international locations will compete for 18 seats, with the Asia-Pacific area being the one area with extra candidates than seats. Many candidates have poor human rights information, and one – Saudi Arabia – stands out for its egregious human rights abuses. Civil society has known as on U.N. member states to reject Saudi Arabia’s candidacy and uphold human rights requirements when electing members of the U.N.’s prime human rights physique.
As in earlier years, the Human Rights Council will quickly renew one-third of its members via secret poll elections. On October 9, all 193 member states of the United Nations Basic Meeting will vote to elect 18 members of the United Nations’ primary human rights physique from 2025 to 2027.
Elections ought to present alternatives to elect candidates with good human rights information. Based on the Council’s membership standards, candidate international locations ought to exhibit a real dedication to selling and defending human rights via home and worldwide motion. They need to additionally exhibit a willingness to reply to rising challenges and crises to make sure the Council’s effectiveness.
How aggressive will this 12 months’s election be?
Sadly, the election was far much less aggressive than it may have been, with solely 19 international locations occupying 18 seats. The seats are allotted to the United Nations’ 5 official regional teams, every of which has its personal slate of candidates. However solely the Asia-Pacific slate is aggressive, with six candidates vying for 5 seats, whereas the opposite 4 are closed, which means they’ve as many candidates as accessible seats. There are 5 candidates vying for five seats from Africa, 3 candidates from Latin America and the Caribbean for 3 seats, 2 candidates from Japanese Europe for two seats, and a couple of candidates from Western Europe and different areas for two seats.
The election is much less aggressive than final 12 months, when 17 candidates competed for 15 seats. Solely Latin America and the Caribbean and Japanese Europe had extra candidates than seats, resulting in Russia’s defeat. In 2021, all 18 candidates working for 18 seats had been elected, receiving between 144 and 189 votes out of a potential 193, regardless of severe issues with the human rights information of a few of them.
Sadly, non-competitive elections are widespread, and totally closed elections have occurred 4 instances since 2008. The issue with noncompetitive races is that they deny voting states the chance to scrupulously consider and choose candidates based mostly on their information and commitments, doubtlessly damaging the standard of the Board of Governors.
However even on closed lists, unopposed candidates may nonetheless lose if they do not get a minimum of 97 of the 193 votes solid. For instance, in 2023, Burundi and China acquired the bottom variety of votes of their respective regional teams, sending a message that their candidacy was not totally supported. ISHR encourages voting states to fastidiously consider all candidates and refuse to vote for questionable candidates, even on closed slates.
Who’re the candidates for the October election?
Candidates for this 12 months’s election embrace Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia and Kenya within the African Group. Members within the Asia-Pacific group embrace Cyprus, South Korea, Marshall Islands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. Latin America and the Caribbean is represented by Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico. Iceland, Spain and Switzerland are candidates for Western Europe and Others, whereas the Czech Republic and North Macedonia are candidates for Central and Japanese Europe.
This 12 months, one candidate has a very poor human rights file: Saudi Arabia. It has closed off civil house, been included within the UN Secretary-Basic’s studies on reprisals a number of instances, and has been accused by UN consultants of committing battle crimes in Yemen. Due to these severe considerations, we’re actively opposing his election within the Asia-Pacific Group.
What function does civil society play on this course of?
Civil society, together with ISHR, has a significant function to play in advocating for a simpler and accountable Human Rights Council. One of many key areas that wants reform is the closed record. Aggressive elections are important to make sure that solely international locations with a real dedication to human rights are elected.
ISHR created scorecards to judge and examine candidates based mostly on their historical past of engagement with human rights mechanisms such because the Common Periodic Overview, in addition to engagement with civil society, UN treaty our bodies and particular procedures. These requirements present a stable understanding and clear overview of a rustic’s human rights file and its suitability to serve on the Council. Whereas we perceive that no nation has an ideal file, these requirements are supposed to offer invaluable perception into every nation’s dedication to upholding human rights and its potential function on the Council.
Along with our scorecard, our annual joint pledging marketing campaign with Amnesty Worldwide offers a platform for international locations to showcase their candidacy, make sturdy public commitments as potential members and achieve direct enter from civil society Suggestions and key questions. If all candidates take part on this occasion, it will increase the political prices of refusing to take part or failing to submit formal pledges and commitments. Such participation would make it tougher for international locations with poor human rights information to hunt seats with out dealing with scrutiny.
What must be the Council’s priorities?
The Human Rights Council is important to amplifying the voices of rights holders, victims and human rights defenders, offering them with a platform to reveal violations and demand accountability. To play this function successfully, its priorities should give attention to being credible, efficient and accessible. It ought to proceed to give attention to universally upholding worldwide regulation, supporting distal and hybrid civil society participation, and guaranteeing that accountability calls for are addressed promptly.
A reputable and efficient Council can solely operate if its members totally cooperate with its mechanisms and cling to goal human rights requirements. At a time when conflicts and crises typically come up from repression and human rights violations, the Safety Council’s function in selling accountability and justice is extra essential than ever. States ought to help the work of human rights defenders, whose efforts to stop violations, doc violations and supply fundamental companies are important to resolving the disaster.
To resolve these conflicts, states should apply human rights requirements persistently. Selective or inconsistent utility of requirements undermines the credibility of worldwide frameworks and people concerned. Worldwide human rights regulation, when utilized persistently and principledly, stays the perfect information to reaching a extra simply, peaceable and inclusive world.
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