China, Cuba, and Russia are the newest additions to the UN Human Rights Council?!
This week, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to allow China, Cuba, and Russia to join the council. No, this is not satire; this is real and sends a concerning message to the world that some of the most prominent perpetrators of human rights violations are now on the official council to stop these violations.
The Human Rights Council’s website says the UNHRC is “an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.”
If that’s indeed the case, why does the council allow China to join after they routinely suppress the most basic human freedoms (like freedom of speech) and imprison ethnic minorities in concentration camps? Why is Cuba given a seat while its government is run by a dictatorial regime which tortures those who speak out against it? Why is Russia allowed at the table when they routinely ban NGOs and humanitarian organizations from working in their nation, claiming they are agents of Western propaganda?
The vote has been widely criticized by many influential individuals and organizations globally, including from the Cuban human rights organization Christian Liberation Movement (CLM), saying, “the underserved election of the Cuban totalitarian regime for a seat on the Human Rights Council is an undue and dangerous recognition of a failed state that exhibits an extensive history of human rights violations.” Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke out in staunch opposition to the vote on her Twitter account:
The decision by the UNHRC is atrocious and a slap in the face to nations all over the world working to uphold and advance human rights.
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