Local Editor
Saudi Arabia‘s re-election to serve on the UN Human Rights Council would undermine the body‘s credibility due to the poor human rights track records of the country, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
The international rights watchdog said that Saudi Arabia is unfit to serve on the 47-member UN rights body because it has carried out attacks against civilians in Yemen.
Electing countries that try to avoid responsibility for their own human rights violations could threaten the Geneva-based Human Rights Council‘s ability to expose violations in other countries, said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch.
"Electing council members that are truly committed to improving human rights is the responsibility of each and every UN member country, and Saudi Arabia doesn’t honor the ideals that underpin the UN Human Rights Council," Charbonneau said.
The UN General Assembly is scheduled to hold elections for the rights body on Friday.
Saudi Arabia began its deadly campaign against Yemen in late March 2015. The strikes were meant to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
About 10,000 people have been killed and over 16,000 injured since Riyadh launched the airstrikes. The Saudi aggression has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen’s facilities and infrastructure.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
