The Kingdom is vying today for one of the 47 seats of the newly formed United Nations Human Rights Council. Sixty-five countries have announced their candidacies for a place on the council. The election is being held by the UN General Assembly in New York.The Saudi government launched its official bid to win a seat on the new council in a letter addressed to the Secretary-General Kofi Annan on April 23. “Saudi Arabia has a confirmed commitment with the defense, protection and promotion of human rights. This commitment has been manifested in its performance as a member of the Commission on Human Rights. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia pursues the policy of active cooperation with international organizations in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” said the letter.
The UN is replacing its old Geneva-based Human Rights Commission with a new council. So far, 65 countries have announced their candidacies for the 47 seats. In a bid to keep the worst offenders off the new council, the UN announced that any new member would have to get an absolute majority of the General Assembly members, that is 96 countries, voting for it, and that a pledge to uphold human rights would have to be put forward by each contender. In addition, each country elected to the council would voluntarily open itself up to regular inspections by UN officials and would submit itself to a regular review of its human rights record. Violators will be subject to being voted off the council.