07/07/2021

Criticism of the UN Human Rights Council

Dictatorships protect each other from resolutions (Press Release)

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has expressed criticism of the Summer Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which is currently taking place in Geneva (until Friday, July 9). "Many people are disappointed about the outcome of the session. A bunch of states that are responsible for serious human rights violations and war crimes – such as Turkey, for example – are protecting each other, thus undermining human rights and minority rights, which should be the guiding principles of the council," criticized Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP's Middle East Consultant.  

Apparently, the UNHCR only shows real commitment when it comes to issuing resolutions against Israel; with a total number of 94, one third of them in the period from 2015 to 2020. "Another four were issued this year, while the most repressive regimes of the world – North Korea and Belarus, for example – were condemned by only one resolution per year," Sido stated. "And Turkey somehow manages to get support from the dictatorial regimes in the Organization for Islamic Cooperation or from NATO states. Thus, criticism of Turkish human rights violations and war crimes against the Kurdish people is very rare, within and outside of Turkey," Sido explained.

Turkey was not condemned by the UNHCR even once during the last few years, and Turkey always votes against Israel – even in the UN General Assembly. Over the past 15 years, Israel has been condemned more often that Syria, North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela together.

Due to the Corona pandemic, meetings of the UN Human Rights Council mostly take place online. The council consists of 47 countries which are appointed by the UN General Assembly for a period of three years.