Saudi Arabia narrowly missed securing a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday, a setback for Riyadh’s ongoing efforts to improve its human rights image globally, Reuters reported.
Members of the Human Rights Council are elected by the 193-member UN General Assembly in New York through a secret ballot based on geographical groupings to ensure balanced representation. On Wednesday, the Asia-Pacific group, which included Saudi Arabia, had six candidates vying for five available seats.
The Marshall Islands secured the fifth seat with 124 votes, while Saudi Arabia received 117 votes, falling short.
Although the Human Rights Council lacks legally binding authority, it plays a critical role in scrutinizing human rights practices worldwide. It can also commission investigations that sometimes contribute to war crimes prosecutions.
In the latest election, countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Czech Republic, North Macedonia, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Iceland, Spain, and Switzerland were elected to the council.
Benin, Gambia, and Qatar were re-elected for a second term, with new members set to begin their three-year terms on January 1, 2025.
Saudi Arabia was previously elected to the UNHRC in 2013, along with China, Russia, Algeria, Cuba, and Vietnam. It made another attempt to secure a seat on the UNHRC in 2020 but was rejected.
Wednesday’s vote came amid concerns over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Reprieve, an anti-execution advocacy group, reported that Saudi Arabia has executed at least 212 people this year, surpassing the previous record of 196 executions in 2022 and 172 in 2023.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has previously stated that reforms to the kingdom’s approach to the death penalty are underway. However, since his rise to power in 2017, the Crown Prince has faced global criticism for suppressing dissent and for his alleged role in the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the Saudi government has denied.
In 2017, the Crown Prince announced that Saudi Arabia would be returning to moderate Islam, part of the reforms he has pushed since his sudden appointment in June of that year.
Despite not being a voting member, Saudi Arabia has actively participated in Human Rights Council activities behind the scenes, noted Reuters.
According to diplomats and rights groups, Saudi lobbying efforts were instrumental in shutting down the council’s war crimes investigations in Yemen in 2021 and in resisting Western-led initiatives to increase scrutiny of potential war crimes in Sudan.
