HRC grants legitimacy to “murderous” Gadaffi regime

A UN Watch-led coalition of 27 NGO’s has appealed for Libya to be expelled from the UN Human Rights Council. Libya and other rights abusers are influencing the “dictator-dominated” council’s resolutions, UN Watch director Hillel Neuer says. “But given the high quantity as well as quality of Libya’s oil, we fear most countries will choose silence.”

Libya took its seat in the 47-member UN Human Rights Council (HRC) this week for the first time since its May election. A three-week council session began on Monday, triggering the rights coalition’s appeal.

In a petition signed by 27 NGO’s on Thursday, they called on the UN’s 192 members to expel Libya from the council unless Kadhafi significantly improves its human rights situation. Several victims of Libyan human rights abuses were present during the coalition’s press conference on Friday.

Given its “notorious record as one of the world’s worst violators of human rights,” the NGO’s argue Libya’s membership contradicts the UN’s promise to elect member states based on their commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights.

Libyan oil

Under the resolution that created the HRC, the General Assembly may suspend any council member that commits “gross and systematic” human rights violations. A two-thirds vote is required.

But UN Watch director Hillel Neuer told Radio Netherlands it is highly unlikely that Libya will be suspended. “Given the high quantity as well as quality of Libya’s oil, we fear that most countries will choose silence,” he told Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

He added that meanwhile, Libya’s influence continues. “As a voting member, Libya has the power to support or oppose any resolution, and as a result to influence its drafting. What may be even more damaging is that Libya’s presence in the world’s highest human rights body grants legitimacy to a murderous dictatorship - a crushing blow to Libya’s dissidents and ordinary citizens.”

World’s worst abusers

Neuer said the UN HRC, which he referred to as “the dictator-dominated council”, actively undermines and twists basic principles of human rights. He added that it has failed to take any action against “the world’s worst abusers” including Iran, China, Zimbabwe, Syria and Venezuela.

“And, far worse than that: there is a faction of 30 out of 47 seats, including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Cuba, that actively promote measures to weaken the protection of freedom of speech and to erode the council’s few remaining mechanisms for independent scrutiny of country conduct,” Neuer said.

He added that after its creation in 2006, the new council gradually eliminated the country investigators for human rights in Belarus, Cuba, Liberia and DR Congo.

Freedom House report

In a damning report published this week, democracy watchdog Freedom House noted that countries which violated human rights have a far-reaching negative influence on the UN HRC.

Since its establishment in 2006, the number of members deemed “free” by Freedom House has dropped from 25 to 20. The number of “not free” members, on the other hand, has risen from 9 to 13. The remaining country members are rated “partly free”. Freedom House said that as a result, the HRC is unable to tackle the most serious human rights violations and even covers some of them up.

The original UN human rights body, the Human Rights Commission, was disbanded following years of criticism. Ironically, the final straw for many was the appointment of Libya to the chairmanship of the body.

The council is made up of 47 member nations, each elected for three years. The seats are apportioned by region, and every year a third of the body's seats are up for renewal.

In May 2010, Libya and 13 other nations ran unopposed for 14 of the council's seats. Regional groups for the first time put forward the same number of candidates as the number of seats available to them, meaning they were elected without competition.