Venezuela, South Korea and Afghanistan lost the race for seats on the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday.
The 193-nation General Assembly voted by secret ballot for 14 seats on the 47-member Human Rights Council, where seats are distributed among regions on the basis of geographical representation, while several human rights organizations have criticized the practice as being deprives members of the United Nations of any choice of countries. There were seats on the council for some countries with a bad human rights record.
The hottest race in this year’s selection was in South America and the Caribbean, where Chile, Costa Rica and Venezuela competed for two spots, while Chile received 144 votes, Costa Rica received 134 votes and Venezuela received 88 votes, and Venezuela got a seat on the Human Rights Council, which was almost enough in 2019.
Human Rights Watch Director Luis Charbonneau welcomed today’s vote, saying the General Assembly has “shut the door” on Venezuela’s attempt to remain on the council.
He added: “United Nations investigators have found evidence that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other officials may be responsible for crimes against humanity against their own people,” stressing that “Member States must now look for ways to bring these Venezuelan officials to justice.” responsible for serious violations of human rights”. violations, including killings” and torture,” he said.
There was also fierce competition for places in the Asia-Pacific region: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, South Korea and Vietnam competed for 4 places, and Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives and Vietnam won.
Whereas Charbonneau saw that “election to the Council of violent governments like Vietnam undermined his credibility”.
In the regions won by acclamation, the council chose Algeria, Morocco, South Africa and Sudan on the African continent, Georgia and Romania for Eastern Europe, and Belgium and Germany for Western Europe.
It is worth noting that fourteen members take office on January 1 and will remain in their positions until December 31, 2025.
Source: “AB”