UN criticized for electing countries previously engaged in religious freedom violations
On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly elected 15 countries to serve on its main body, the United States Human Rights Council, for a three-year term, only to draw criticism from advocacy groups. human rights.
The criticism arose from the fact that elected countries were previously engaged in violations of religious freedom. A few of these countries are China, Russia, Pakistan and Cuba. Ahead of Tuesday's elections, human rights organizations called on UN member states to oppose the election of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Pakistan and from Uzbekistan because of their “unqualified” human rights record.
China, which is believed to have detained more than a million Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslims in western China but defeated Saudi Arabia in elections, Cuba has been placed on the "special watch list. From State Department countries for committing or tolerating violations of religious freedom. are also guilty of violating religious freedom for persecuting Christians.
"The nations that have the honor of serving on the Council must pledge to respect international human rights law. Council members must ensure that Cuba does not shirk responsibility for its own conduct or does not use its headquarters to weaken these international standards, ”criticized human rights groups.
Hillel Neurer, Executive Director of UN Watch shared the shocking reality of the UN in a statement: “Currently, 51% of the members of the UN Human Rights Council do not meet the minimum standards of a free democracy.
The United States withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 after accusing the Council of being a "hypocritical and self-serving organization that mocks human rights."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took the opportunity to support the US decision in 2018.
“The election of China, Russia and Cuba to the UN Human Rights Council validates the US decision to withdraw from the Council in 2018 and use other means of protection. and promote universal human rights, ”said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The American Human Rights Council proposes a resolution on human rights issues and also oversees investigations into violations of religious freedom. It elects the seats by region: for the Eastern Europe region, Russia and Ukraine were elected and for the Latin America / Caribbean region, Mexico, Cuba and Bolivia were elected.
The criticism arose from the fact that elected countries were previously engaged in violations of religious freedom. A few of these countries are China, Russia, Pakistan and Cuba. Ahead of Tuesday's elections, human rights organizations called on UN member states to oppose the election of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Pakistan and from Uzbekistan because of their “unqualified” human rights record.
China, which is believed to have detained more than a million Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslims in western China but defeated Saudi Arabia in elections, Cuba has been placed on the "special watch list. From State Department countries for committing or tolerating violations of religious freedom. are also guilty of violating religious freedom for persecuting Christians.
"The nations that have the honor of serving on the Council must pledge to respect international human rights law. Council members must ensure that Cuba does not shirk responsibility for its own conduct or does not use its headquarters to weaken these international standards, ”criticized human rights groups.
Hillel Neurer, Executive Director of UN Watch shared the shocking reality of the UN in a statement: “Currently, 51% of the members of the UN Human Rights Council do not meet the minimum standards of a free democracy.
The United States withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 after accusing the Council of being a "hypocritical and self-serving organization that mocks human rights."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took the opportunity to support the US decision in 2018.
“The election of China, Russia and Cuba to the UN Human Rights Council validates the US decision to withdraw from the Council in 2018 and use other means of protection. and promote universal human rights, ”said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The American Human Rights Council proposes a resolution on human rights issues and also oversees investigations into violations of religious freedom. It elects the seats by region: for the Eastern Europe region, Russia and Ukraine were elected and for the Latin America / Caribbean region, Mexico, Cuba and Bolivia were elected.