השגריר גלעד ארדן: המועצה לזכויות אדם - גוף חולה ואנטישמי

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, on Tuesday criticized the UN Human Rights Council following the elections in the organization.

In the elections, China, Russia and Cuba all won seats on the UN’s human rights body despite opposition from activist groups over their abysmal human rights records. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, lost, reported The Associated Press.

Russia and Cuba were running unopposed, but China and Saudi Arabia were in a five-way race in the only contested race for seats on the Human Rights Council.

In secret-ballot voting in the 193-member UN General Assembly on that race, Pakistan received 169 votes, Uzbekistan 164, Nepal 150, China 139 and Saudi Arabia just 90 votes, according to The Associated Press.

"Today's Human Rights Council elections prove once again that this council has nothing to do with protecting human rights and everything to do with violating them,” said Erdan.

“Since 2006, the council has adopted 90 resolutions condemning Israel, more than all the resolutions against Syria, North Korea and Iran, combined,” he added.

“The obsessive focus on Israel, along with its protection of oppressive, dictatorial regimes, shows that the Human Rights Council is in the business of white-washing the crimes of these countries. I call on all democracies that are still members of the council to immediately resign from this shameful and anti-Semitic body," concluded Erdan.

The UNHRC has long been known for its anti-Israel bias and continues to pass resolutions condemning Israel. Earlier this year, it published a list of 112 companies which operate in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Last year, a report submitted to the UNHRC claimed that Israel deliberately shot Palestinian Arab children and journalists at the Gaza border and violated international law.

Israel rejected the findings of the UN probe, calling it "hostile, deceitful and biased."

The US withdrew from the UNHRC in 2018, citing its anti-Israel bias.