The Saudi Royal Family have failed in their attempt to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the upcoming three-year term starting in January 2021. Saudi Arabia received only 90 votes in the election, compared with Pakistan – 169 votes, Uzbekistan – 164, Nepal – 150, and China – 139.
In total fifteen countries were elected to the 47-nation council on Tuesday, including China and Russia. New York based Human Rights Watch described China and Saudi Arabia as “two of the world’s most abusive governments“. The group also singled out numerous war crimes in the Syrian war as making Russia a highly problematic candidate.
Leaders from many nations as well as experts in the field are concerned by the number of countries with questionable rights records being elected, and many are pushing for reform to the current system of entry to UNHRC.
