SAUDI ARABIA – UN Riyadh was defeated in the Human Rights Council and was left without a seat. Meanwhile, record of executions

By seven votes, the place is occupied by the Marshall Islands, one of the five representatives of the Asia-Pacific region. The candidacy was rejected as in 2020, while Qatar won its second consecutive term. Meanwhile, in the first ten months of 2024, 213 death sentences were carried out in the kingdom of Al Saud. A number that had never been reached.

Riyadh (AsiaNew) – For the second time in four years, Saudi Arabia failed to enter the UN Human Rights Council, winning – through secret ballot voting – one of the 47 places available in the Geneva-based body. Swiss. The rejection by the United Nations General Assembly was applauded by human rights defenders, who had not only Riyadh but also several countries on the African continent in their sights. There were 18 positions at stake for the 2025-2027 triennium, which had to be distributed among the regions. For the Asia-Pacific zone, the five assigned places were obtained by Cyprus, the Marshall Islands, Qatar (confirmed for the second and last time), South Korea and Thailand.

Saudi Arabia was the sixth candidate and failed in its attempt to gather the consensus necessary to be elected, as happened in 2020. Riyadh was seven votes short, allowing the Marshall Islands to obtain the fifth seat in the influential body of the United Nations. The entry was highly anticipated by the government of the kingdom, the subject of very harsh criticism – in the past and currently – in terms of human rights, for capital executions, violations of freedoms (including religious freedom) and controversial episodes of international importance. , such as the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The new members will begin their mandate from January 1, 2025, but will not include the presence of Riyadh’s representative, although the country has invested billions in recent years to transform its image globally. The attempt consists of going from a state famous for its rigid religious restrictions (still in force) and human rights violations to a tourist and entertainment center, following a plan launched by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and known as Vision 2030.

The members of the Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, are elected by the United Nations General Assembly in New York (193 members in total) by secret ballot and divided into geographical sectors, to ensure uniform representation. The Asia-Pacific group, which includes Saudi Arabia, was the only one with internal competition, because it submitted six applications for five available seats. The Marshall Islands came in fifth place with 124 votes, seven more than the Wahhabi kingdom.

Although the Council does not have legally binding powers, its monitoring functions have gained value over time and can lead to requests for investigations to document abuses that sometimes form the basis for judicial proceedings (also) for war crimes. Qatar was re-elected for a second three-year term, which members cannot serve more than twice consecutively. Although not among the 47, Riyadh has been increasingly active in maneuvering behind the scenes in recent years, diplomats and rights movements say. The pressure he has brought to bear helped block investigations into war crimes in Yemen in 2021 and attempted to thwart a Western-led motion to increase scrutiny of those responsible for possible war crimes in Sudan.

On the domestic front – another critical aspect – the widespread resort to capital executions continues, with a record number in 2024, the highest in a long time. In the first 10 months, Saudi Arabia executed 213 people, a higher number than in any other calendar year. According to the London-based human rights group Reprieve, which documents the death penalty around the world, the highest number before this year was 196 in 2022, followed by 184 in 2019. “As attention world focuses on horror elsewhere in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is cleaning up death row with a bloodbath,” Reprieve deputy editor Harriet McCulloch told Middle East Eye (MME). And according to activist NGO, Riyadh has repeatedly lied to the United Nations about resorting to the death penalty.

“In the first nine months of 2024, the kingdom has surpassed its dismal record of people killed in a year,” McCulloch added. “With 213 executions, at this moment the prisoners on death row are at greater risk than ever, and their families – concludes the expert – are desperately awaiting news about their fate on the news.” The executions are being carried out under the government of bin Salman, the kingdom’s prime minister and the nation’s de facto leader, who had pledged in a 2018 interview to minimize the use of capital punishment. In reality, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most prolific executioners in the world and under the crown prince’s government at least 1,115 executions were carried out between June 21, 2017 and October 9, 2024.