New Delhi (NVI): China and Pakistan have been elected into UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) despite their abysmal human rights record and protests by several activist groups, who have condemned the UN body for electing such authoritarian regimes.
Both China and Pakistan were elected to UNHRC during the ongoing 75th General Assembly Session at the UN headquarters in New York.
While China managed to win despite its treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority, Pakistan also made it to the UN body despite its gross human rights violations in Gilgit Baltistan and Balochistan regions where it is oppressing minority communities for raising their voices.
However, China has witnessed reduced support at the UNHRC this time as it received only 139 votes out of the total number of 191 valid votes cast by the member states. 52 member states did not vote for China. In 2009 China had received 167 votes, in 2013 it had received 176 and in 2016 it had received the highest 180 votes.
This reflects the decreasing support for China by the member states in the wake of atrocities committed by Beijing on the minority Uighur Muslim population.
At the UNHRC elections, seats are allocated to regions to ensure geographical representation.
Ironically, Pakistan has managed to receive a maximum of 169 votes at the UNHRC, even as several reports by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and activists have shown the dark side of Islamabad when it comes to the treatment of the minority population in the region. Pakistan has been re-elected to the group and has been elected six times since the formation of the UN body in 2006.
The other contenders: Uzbekistan received 164 votes, Nepal 150 and Saudi Arabia just 90 votes.
China has been elected to the Council for four previous terms: 2007-09, 2010-12, 2014-16 and 2017-19. In 2009 China had received 167 votes, in 2013 it had received 176 and in 2016 it had received the highest 180 votes.
Apart from Uighur Muslims, China has also oppressed Tibet for years now. Beijing has almost turned the Tibet region into a surveillance state.
After China’s election into UNHRC, Dr. Lobsang Sangay remarked, President of the Central Tibetan Administration said, “China’s election to the Council casts an indelible stain on the credibility of the UN Human Rights Council. There is mounting evidence of China’s egregious human rights violations in Tibet, East Turkestan (CHN: Xinjiang), Hong Kong, Souther Mongolia (CHN: Inner Mongolia) and other regions under China. The human rights violations in Tibet have gone from bad to worse with reports of over half a million Tibetans subjected to forced labour camps in Tibet.”
Sangay said that it is unfortunate that China has been elected to one of the most important UN bodies tasked with the protection of human rights. “This undermines the integrity of the Council. However, we should also acknowledge the fact that 41 countries who had voted in favour of China in 2016 have changed their votes and this clearly shows that China’s power is on the decline. More countries should join hands towards making the world a safer place for Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers and other vulnerable communities suffering under the Chinese Communist Party regime,” he added.
Total 15 countries, that have been elected to UNHRC for three-year terms starting January 1, 2021 are Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Malawi, Senegal, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine, Bolivia, Cuba, Mexico, France and the United Kingdom.
The UN Human Rights Council has 47 member states elected to a term of three years. However, after two consecutive terms at the Council, a member state is not eligible for immediate re-election.
The membership of the Council is distributed on equitable geographical distribution and the seats are allocated as follows: Group of African States (13); Group of Asia-Pacific States (13); Group of Eastern European States (6); Group of Latin American and the Caribbean States (8) and Group of Western European and other States (7).
-ARK
