Argentina, United States -in this case after almost four years of absence- and Eritrea, accused by various NGOs of violating fundamental freedoms, They were elected this Thursday by the UN General Assembly to serve on the Human Rights Council for a three-year term.
Eighteen countries were the candidates to fill as many positions as of January 1, and it was in this scenario that the United States obtained 168 votes and Eritrea 144. In this way, The country ruled by Joe Biden will resume its seat on the Council after the administration of former President Donald Trump withdrew from the body in 2018.
Likewise, Honduras, Paraguay, Finland, Luxembourg, Benin, Cameroon, Gambia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar, Lithuania and Montenegro were elected by majority (a minimum of 97 votes).
The case of Eritrea
Eritrea collaborated with the Ethiopian government in the military campaign that the latter began waging in November last year against the group in the Tigré region in the north of the country.
During the offensive, the UN received numerous complaints from activists and international NGOs from sources on the ground alleging killings and other atrocities committed by Eritrean forces.
The Council during the absence of the USA
On the other hand, the absence of the United States allowed China and some allies, including Belarus and Venezuela, to multiply in recent years the joint statements in support of Beijing’s actions in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, and denounced the violations of Human Rights in Western countries, including those of Canadian indigenous peoples.
NGO complaints
In Thursday’s election, some NGOs accused regional groups of having presented the same number of candidates as there were vacancies – an “electoral farce” for UN Watch – and of failing to stop candidacies from authoritarian countries.
Based in Geneva, the Human Rights Council has a total of 47 members. The presence of authoritarian regimes that violate human rights has been the subject of criticism for years.
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