Expand the Human Rights Council

By
Hillel C. Neuer

June 21, 2021 6:09 p.m. ET

The Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, February 27, 2020.

Photo:

denis balibuse / Reuters

Geneva

The US wants to look for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council and work on its reform. “Those with the worst human rights records should not belong to this council,” said Foreign Minister Antony Blinken. Good luck with it.

The 47-nation council was formed in 2006 to address the shortcomings of its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission, which was once under the infamous presidency of Muammar al-Gaddafi Libya. The council promised to uphold “the highest standards” of human rights. But 60% of its current members – including China, Cuba, Eritrea, Pakistan, Russia and Venezuela – don’t even meet the minimum standards.

The problem is the electoral process. Regional groups share slots in backroom deals, and democracies rarely fight back.

For tyrannical regimes, winning a world post for human rights is a sign of legitimacy. “Despite the imperial lies and false reports, the world recognizes, admires and respects Cuba for its firm beliefs,” said President Miguel Díaz-Canel after the Havana victory. Moscow welcomed the worldwide “widespread recognition” of the “correct course Russia has taken” with regard to human rights.

There is no reason to believe that Mr Blinken will be able to keep dictatorships away from the Council. But here’s a different approach: why not remove the legitimizing facade of elections and simply make every UN member state automatically a member of the Human Rights Council?

Expanding from 47 to 193 members may seem unwieldy. But that’s how big the UN General Assembly is, and it’s been more committed to human rights than the Human Rights Council. Last year, the General Assembly condemned the abuses in Belarus, Crimea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Syria. The detailed resolution of the General Assembly on Iranian violations is far superior to the self-proclaimed “short procedural text” on Iran, which is passed annually by the Human Rights Council.

Dictators dominate the council elections because they are willing to pay any price for global support for human rights. Universal membership would dilute their influence. The evil advice is not going to go away, and the Biden administration is determined to let the US play a part in it. Here’s one way to make it constructive.

Mr. Neuer is the executive director of United Nations Watch.

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Published in the print edition of June 22, 2021.