Russia Accepted to UN Human Rights Council

Russia ran unopposed, despite facing international criticism for its abuses (Flickr)

The Russian Federation is now on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), having surpassed the minimum number of votes required for membership. The UNHRC is an organization with the authority to launch investigations and resolutions on human rights abuses around the world and condemn violating governments. 

Russia is a controversial choice: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Human Rights First have all launched scathing critiques of the government’s attempts to silence internal dissidents. Recently, international ire turned towards the country after prominent dissident Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok and had to be airlifted to a German hospital for treatment.

Abroad, the Kremlin has also faced criticism for a campaign of bombings on civilian hospitals in Syria—as many as 583 in total by 2019. In 2016, Russia lost a bid to the UNHRC, for reasons some believe was due to international backlash. That year, Hungary and Croatia won instead. This year, however, Russia ran unopposed.

The United States withdrew from UNHRC in 2018, with former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley referring to it as an organization that “consistently fails the cause of human rights.” She specifically named Russia, China, Cuba, and Egypt as countries that “benefit from making a mockery of the Human Rights Council.” Other incumbent members condemned by the U.S. include Venezuela, Eritrea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, all three of which are ranked as “authoritarian” by The Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index 2019.

Other contentious victors in the election are the People’s Republic of China, which stands accused of imprisoning around 1 million ethnic Uighurs in internment camps, and Cuba, which has been criticized for arbitrary detentions of journalists and protestors. Saudi Arabia, a country already on the UNHRC, failed in its attempt for reelection, possibly due to the Kingdom’s tarnished reputation following the murder of dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

The UNHRC defended its decision to allow states accused of violating human rights to serve. “It is understood that the Council can only be as effective as its Member States… the election process was placed directly in the hands of the General Assembly,” the UNHRC wrote in a statement. In other words, so long as a country can secure the votes, they are allowed to have a seat—and it certainly doesn’t hurt their chances if no one is running against them.

The council, however, strongly urges electors to consider the reputation of the country up for election, stating, “With membership on the Council comes a responsibility to uphold high human rights standards.” This responsibility is now Russia’s to sustain, as one of the council’s strongest members.