- Russia seeks UN rights council return.
- Election to reveal global support.
- Concerns over secret vote.
Russia, ousted from the UN Human Rights Council in October for invading Ukraine, will try to rejoin on Tuesday. This uncertain action will serve as an indicator of the level of international support Russia has received.
On that day, the United Nations General Assembly will elect fifteen new members to the Geneva-based organization for mandates beginning in 2024 and ending in 2026.
The General Assembly approves candidates pre-selected by significant regional organisations for the 47 council members.
However, in this particular year, two regions—Latin America (where three seats will be contested by candidates from Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Peru) and Eastern Europe (where two seats will be contested by candidates from Bulgaria, Russia, and Albania)—have more applicants than seats.
The United States opposes Moscow’s endeavor.
Moscow’s candidature has engendered doubt, and the election will transpire mere days subsequent to a Russian missile assault on the Ukrainian village of Groza, which resulted in the tragic loss of over fifty lives.
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“We hope [Russia’s] absurd candidature will be firmly rejected by UN members,” a State Department spokesperson said under the condition of anonymity.
In Ukraine, members of Russian military forces have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, in addition to violations of international humanitarian law,” the spokesperson continued.
Recent statements by leading UN expert Mariana Katzarova indicate that repression within Russia has reached “unprecedented in recent history” levels since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
An election to the United Nations Human Rights Council requires 97 ballots out of the organization’s 193 member states. In April 2022, 93 nations cast votes in favor of suspending Russia from the council, with 24 countries abstaining.
This majority vote against Russia was not as disproportionate as others that defended the territorial integrity of Ukraine; approximately 140 countries supported the resolution.
However, some states that violate human rights fear having their way with the rights council, making the situation more problematic.
Covert vote
The Tuesday secret ballot vote may illuminate a fractured globe in which numerous developing nations are tired of the West’s focus on Ukraine.
Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group opined, “I believe Western diplomats in New York are rather concerned that Russia could sneak back into the Human Rights Council,” which would be “a massive public relations disaster for the United Nations.”
Russia has always maintained that many United Nations members harbor private sympathies for it but refrain from openly supporting it due to concerns of inciting Western powers,” he further stated. “In this secret vote, Moscow will hope that this ostensibly silent majority supports it.”
Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, refuted this notion, stating, “Contrary to popular belief, neither beacons of democracy nor rogue nations exist. It is impossible for any member state to assert immunity from human rights violations.
Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) Louis Charbonneau acknowledged that no council member “has an impeccable human rights record,” but added that “each member state of the United Nations should recognize that Russia and China flagrantly disregard the council’s membership standards.”
His organization has urged member states to abstain from casting their ballots in support of Beijing, citing the Chinese government’s human rights violations against the Uyghur minority.
China, on the other hand, faces minimal risk in the vote, as it is among the four Asian regional countries competing for four vacant seats.
Additionally, HRW urges nations to oppose Cuba’s candidature, whereas the International Service for Human Rights opposes Burundi’s candidature in addition to those of Russia and China.
Ivory Coast, Malawi, Ghana, Kuwait, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, and France are the additional candidates on Tuesday.
