Earlier today, Indian army chief Bipin Rawat rejected the UNHRC claim that India has violated the human rights in Kashmir. Calling the report motivated, he said there was no need to give it any importance. While he was referring to the report, the same can be said about the entire UNHRC which has been biased and prejudiced. The United Nations Human Right Commission was created in 2006 to protect the rights of people across the world. However, the organisation today has become a toothless body which is to an extent governed by propaganda. Apparently US felt the same.
The US Leaves UNHRC
The US officially left the UNHRC on June 19, 2018, citing the council’s bias against a few countries and attempts to shield the real violators of human rights. The National Review reports that Nikki Haley waited for a year before taking the call on leaving the council. During the period, efforts were being made by the US to improve the functioning of UNHRC. However, it was unable to achieve the same.
The UNHRC has issued more resolutions against Israel than it has against North Korea. Item seven on the agenda of UNHRC is the human rights violation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories. Using this agenda, Israel has been singled out. It has been targeted by its enemies. Similar attempts have been made time and again to target India.
The Huge Irony
The UNHRC is a testament to irony and hypocrisy that is prevalent on the international stage pertaining to the human rights. The members of UNHRC include China, Cuba, Venezuela, DR Congo, and Iraq. The extent of human right violations in these countries is well-documented. Saudi Arabia was made the chair of UNHRC giving it rights to select top officials including UN experts on women’s rights.
The UNHRC had elected Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to the council and allowed him to address a special assembly in a 40-minute long speech. UNHRC is known to recruit people who have a bias against countries like Israel or India. In 2009, Dr Grietje Baars was appointed as an impartial author to write about Hamas-Israel war. Baars was believed to be a radical supporter of Hamas.
The recent report against India was prepared by a Jordanian citizen Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein who himself has some questionable past. He has also been seen with the likes of Faiz Naqushbandi of the All Party Hurriyat Conference and others who are believed to the part of lobby groups in Geneva. That brings us to yet another problem of UNHRC, lobby groups.
Growing Chinese Influence
Since its formation, the UNHRC has brought zero resolutions against China. The communist regime is known to silence the critics and further push its agenda even at the UNHRC. China uses the representatives of 34 government-sponsored organizations in Geneva to further its agenda. It is amusing how people closer home believe reports by such organizations are the final word and try to use it to further their own agenda. So not everything that emerges from Geneva is true and due diligence is required in each case.
While our PM tiptoes around his garden making Yoga videos, India leads Afghanistan, Syria & Saudi Arabia in rape & violence against women. What a shame for our country! https://t.co/Ba8ZiwC0ad
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 26, 2018
The departure of US will only lead to increasing influence of China. Israel has also decided to skip the 38th UNHRC session. It is clear that the UNHRC has become an arena for political conflicts and pushing agenda. The political propaganda and fact-finding errors brought forward by UNHRC cannot be overlooked. The departure of America just reiterates the fact that a country can value human rights and work towards it without being part of a sham called UNHRC.