The United Nations' decision to appoint Saudi Arabia the role as head of the UN Human Rights Council was not received positively since the Arab country is known for having "arguably the worst record in the world" in relation to the freedom given towards women and minorities.
One of the critics is Ensaf Haidar, wife of Raif Badawi, who was imprisoned for blogging his opinions about free speech. The Saudi Arabia's authorities thought what he wrote was "scandalous" and they sentenced him to a punishment of 1,000 lashes.
Haidar, who is presently spearheading an international campaign to free her imprisoned husband, took it to Facebook how UN's decision to award the role to Saudi Arabia's ambassador, Faisal bin Hassan Trad, is "a green light to start flogging [him] again," The Independent reported.
In case you missed it: SAUDI ARABIA has been chosen once again to chair a key UN Human Rights Council panel. No joke....
Posted by UN Watch on Saturday, September 19, 2015
"It is scandalous that the UN chose a country that has beheaded more people this year than ISIS to be head of a key human rights panel," according to Hillel Neuer, the UN Watch executive director, according to the UN Watch Website. "Petro-dollars and politics have trumped human rights."
"Saudi Arabia has arguably the worst record in the world when it comes to religious freedom and women's rights, and continues to imprison the innocent blogger Raif Badawi," he added.
UN Watch was able to obtain the UNHRC documents that say Saudi Arabia will lead a group of ambassadors with five members or known better as the Consultative Group. This organization will hold the power in choosing applicants worldwide to hold positions in working towards thematic human rights mandates that can be country-specific, according to the Report of the Consultative Group to the President of the Human Rights Council.
The organization has added that this decision reflects how, "oil continues to trump basic human rights principles," Canada Free Press reported.
