U.N. to hold Human Rights Council elections

Despite objections by various international human rights organizations, the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold elections for 14 new council members, BBC News reported today.

According to U.N. Watch, the selection of certain controversial countries, such as Angola Belarus, Egypt and Qatar, could damage the council’s credibility on fundamental human rights issues. U.N. Watch and Freedom House classified the controversial candidate countries as "authoritarian regimes with negative UN voting records [on rights issues]... [who] are not qualified to be council members.”

19 human rights groups joined together on Monday to urge the U.N. General Assembly to reject Egypt’s candidacy for a council seat due to a record “full of serious human rights violations that have been practiced widely for long years.”

After the dismantling of the much-maligned Human Rights Commission last June, there is pressure on the Human Rights Council to maintain a better reputation and not admit countries that have poor records on human rights.

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To access U.N. information on the Human Rights Council elections, click here.

For various NGO press releases and reports concerning the Human Rights Council elections, visit the following links: HRW Freedom House U.N. Watch (1) (2)