Libya, Thailand elected to UN Human Rights Council
UN: Libya and Thailand were among 14 countries elected as new
members of the U.N.'s top human rights body on Thursday in a vote that
rights advocates criticized as uncompetitive and "pre-cooked."
Angola, Mauritania, Uganda, the Maldives, Malaysia, Qatar, Moldova,
Poland, Ecuador, Guatemala, Spain and Switzerland were also elected by
the General Assembly for three-year terms on the 47-nation Human Rights
Council, which is based in Geneva.
Both Libya and Thailand have been criticized by rights groups for
their human rights records.
"The council elections have become a pre-cooked process that strips
the meaning from the membership standards established by the General
Assembly," said Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director at U.S.-based
Human Rights Watch.
"States serious about the role the council can play in promoting
human rights should push for competitive slates in all regions, and
should be willing to compete for a seat themselves," she said.
UNITED NATIONS, Friday, Reuters |