UNHRC becomes enabler of abuse as it preserves impunity for “US friendly” Human Rights Abusers

One year into the “Arab Spring,” Bahrain, Egypt, Libya and other Arab governments continue to pursue impunity for human rights violations
26 March, 2012 – United Nations Human Rights Council

The UN Human Rights Council concluded its 19th Session, adopting several resolutions in relation to the ongoing struggle for democracy within the Arab region. Resolutions concerningLibya,Syria,Yemen, the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests, as well as on Israeli settlements in theOccupiedPalestinianTerritory, were all adopted by the Council. While the Council continued to give attention to these issues, many governments rejected efforts to ensure accountability for rights violations committed before, during, and after democratic uprisings within the region.

“This session, governments such asEgyptandLibyalargely failed to pursue policies in line with the principles of freedom, dignity, and justice demanded by their citizens,” said Mr. Ziad Abdel Tawab, Deputy Director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS). “Instead, these governments adopted positions that not only contradict with those demands, but cynically use the uprisings that have occurred in their countries to justify continued impunity for human rights violations. Brave citizens who have been killed, injured, and tortured in the name of true reform and a break from the past, deserve better from their government representatives. We call on the newly elected Egyptian parliament and soon-to-be elected government inLibyato end this type of behavior by their UN representatives”.

Despite ongoing grave rights violations committed against democracy activists, protestors, and human rights defenders inBahrainandEgypt, the human rights situations in these countries have still not been addressed in any meaningful way by the Human Rights Council. Over the last year,Bahrainand the Gulf Cooperation Council member states, which includeSaudi Arabia,Qatar, andKuwait, all current member states of the Council, have consistently used their influence to ensure there is no consideration of the situation inBahrainby the United Nations.