UN receives flaks over inclusion of countries with very poor human rights records
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Oct. 13: India has been elected to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for a period of three years starting January 1, 2019 after garnering most votes from the 193-member UN General Assembly. Only four countries didn’t vote for India, while one country abstained from taking part in the elections.
“I am happy to inform that India has been elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council with highest number of votes. We have secured 188 votes out of 193,” tweeted Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs of India.
India had previously been elected to the council for the 2011-2014 and 2014-2017 terms.
A total of 18 new members were elected to the 47-member UNHRC by the majority of members of the UN General Assembly through a secret ballot and a minimum of 97 votes are required to get elected to the council. It was certain that India would get a berth as only five countries, including Bahrain, Bangladesh, Fiji and Philippines, were vying for the five available seats in the Asia Pacific category.
The new members to join the UNHRC in 2019 are Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eritrea, Fiji, India, Italy, Philippines, Somalia, Togo, and Uruguay. The council members are elected based on equitable geographical distribution with 13 seats each for African and Asia-Pacific countries, eight seats for Latin American and Caribbean states, seven for western European and other nations, and six for eastern European countries.
The members of the council serve for a period of three years and a maximum of two consecutive terms.
While many countries are celebrating India’s inclusion in the UNHRC, which is responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights across the world, the council has received flaks from several quarters over the way countries with very poor human rights records are being inducted uncontested owing to lack of competition in the electoral process. The United States had withdrawn support to the council earlier this year, accusing it of being “bias against Israel” and taking steps that supposedly make a mockery of human rights.
The council has received sharp criticisms over presence of several countries with very poor human rights records. According to Cato Institute’s 2017 Human Freedoms Index, a report of 159 countries using dozens of indicators of personal and economic freedom like rule of law, expression, relationship, legal system and property rights, and trade freedom, five countries namely Afghanistan, Cuba, Eritrea, Iraq, and Somalia have such a poor data on human rights that they are not even ranked in the report.
Among the UNHRC member countries, Egypt is ranked at 155th of the total 159 included in Cato Institute’s 2017 Human Freedoms Index, while Democratic Republic of the Congo is ranked at 152, Saudi Arabia at 149, Cameroon at 145, and Angola at 142. India is ranked at 102.
