Results of the Human Rights Council elections emphasise the importance of holding competitive elections and the need for States to strongly consider candidates’ human rights records when voting.
The recent elections for membership of the Human Rights Council for the 2018-2020 term were fairly predictable. Of the five regional groups, only the Asia-Pacific group presented more candidates (5) than available seats (4).
The forthcoming members of the Human Rights Council will be:
’A seat on the Human Rights Council should be earned through a record of promoting and protecting human rights and cooperating with relevant UN bodies. An election like this one, where candidates are appointed by default because there is no competition within regional groups, threatens the credibility of the Council as the premier UN human rights body, and ensures the membership of countries that may not be best-suited for a seat on the Council,’ said ISHR’s Legal Counsel Tess McEvoy.
Having presented as many candidates as there were seats, the African Group – like three other groups – did not undergo a competitive election process. Therefore the membership of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was guaranteed, despite a major call by civil society not to vote for the State, including through a letter signed by 157 Congolese organisations.
‘We are incredibly concerned to see a State with a record of human rights violations, as well as a poor record of cooperation with UN mechanisms voted in to the Council. Their human rights history must be considered when voting new Council members,’ said McEvoy.
These elections sing an all too familiar tune. The 2015 Human Rights Council elections resulted in the membership of Burundi for the 2016-2018 term. Recently, the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi found reasonable grounds to believe crimes against humanity have been committed, and recommended that the International Criminal Court begin an investigation into the situation.
As a member of the Council, Burundi has participated in less than 10% of panel discussions, interactive dialogues, and general debates.
In light of the report of the Commission of Inquiry, and Burundi’s lack of cooperation with UN mechanisms and special procedures, ISHR has called for the suspension of Burundi from the Human Rights Council through its #BurundiOut campaign. Follow the links to learn more about our Twitter campaign and the situation in Burundi.
Photo: ISHR
A newly-released confidential letter by a UN Special Rapporteur documents the disbarment of human rights lawyers in China and the tightening ideological control over lawyers and law firms. The UN expert denounces disappearances, closed-door trials, harassment of relatives, travel bans, and other abuses targeting human rights lawyers.
On Tuesday 16 April 2024, ISHR delivered to both Geneva’s Administrative Council and its legislative counterpart, the Municipal Council, physical copies of the more than 1000 signatures collected in support of a memorial honouring Chinese human rights defender Cao Shunli.
The 79th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights will be held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 14 May to 3 June 2024. The session will be preceded by the NGO Forum, which will be held in hybrid format from the 11-13 May 2024.
