Saudi Arabia has failed in its bid to secure a seat on the United Nations’ top human rights body, following a campaign by rights groups urging member states to oppose its candidacy. The 193-member General Assembly elected 18 new members to the 47-nation Human Rights Council, with regional representation being a key consideration.
The Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, plays a crucial role in reviewing the human rights situations in countries worldwide. It appoints independent investigators to report on issues such as torture and conducts fact-finding missions in countries like North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar. The council was established in 2006 to replace a previous commission that had been discredited due to members with poor human rights records.
In this year’s election, the Asia-Pacific group was the only contested slate with six candidates vying for five seats. Saudi Arabia received 117 votes, falling short behind countries like Thailand, Cyprus, Qatar, South Korea, and Marshall Islands. Prior to the vote, rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, raised concerns about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, highlighting incidents such as the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the alleged mistreatment of migrants at the Yemen-Saudi border.
While Saudi Arabia’s U.N. Mission did not immediately respond to requests for comment, a letter from the country’s mission in Geneva last year denied allegations of systematic killings at the border. Various other candidates also faced criticism, with calls for the General Assembly to oppose candidates from countries like Qatar, Bolivia, Congo, and Ethiopia due to their human rights records.
Despite the contested slates in some regions, candidates from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Western group were elected to serve three-year terms starting in 2025. The United States, after deciding not to seek a second consecutive term, expressed confidence in the newly elected representatives from countries like Iceland, Spain, and Switzerland to advance American interests and values within the council.