GENEVA: Pakistan on Monday was elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council, an inter-governmental body within the UN system.
Pakistan, which had the endorsement of the Asia Group, polled 171 votes, when 97 were required.
The Geneva-based Council is mandated to promote and protect human rights and prevent human rights violations.
The 47-member body is composed of 13 countries from Africa, 13 from Asia, six from Eastern Europe, eight from Latin America and the Caribbean, and seven from Western Europe and other states.
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@Khalq e Khuda:
This whole report is so completely distorted as to create the impression that Pakistan has won kudos for its human rights record. Nowhere is it more obvious than in Pakistan that human rights are trampled upon with the greatest ferocity: be it journalists, women, minorities and even children who want to study. Indeed, there were widespread protests from international organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other powerful institutions that were fiercely against Pakistan's membership in the UNHRC. "You don't invite a butcher to oversee that the sheep are kept well ..." said the commentator of a respected local paper in Washington. That Pakistan got elected -- "overwhelmingly", as this report's caption says -- is due, largely, to a quirk in the electoral system of the UN where even notorious violators of human rights such as Somalia, Syria, North Korea and others can get elected with an "overwhelming majority".
But here's an extract from Tuesday's "New York Times" which had this to say:
In Monday’s election, 18 states gained seats, even though activists had denounced each potential member’s human rights record days earlier. “We need better ingredients in the soup,” Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, said during an event on Friday at the United Nations in New York where questions were raised about several candidates for the panel. On Friday, UN Watch and the Human Rights Foundation had invited activists from Venezuela, Pakistan and Kazakhstan to speak about human rights violations. The three countries all gained council membership on Monday, even though the two groups judged them “not qualified” to serve, based on an examination (PDF) of their domestic rights protections and their voting record at the United Nations.
I wonder why the Express Tribune failed to mention this. Half-baked reports tend to create a wrong impression amongst readers who can be misled into believing that all is hunky dory in their country when, in fact, the opposite is true.
Every country has its own problems when it comes to human rights, Pakistan is one of them. However by delegating them this important responsibility resonantes the faith some "important people" have in Pakistan when it comes to human rights obligations. But then again I don't expect trolls to understand that.
There was a report that Govt had already spend 70% of their budget for this year in 4 months... we now know where the money went...
a country is usually elected into a council so that its member countries can keep a closer eye on it. it has nothing to do with Pakistan having gone in the "right direction" actually we are less free and have less rights than we did 10 years ago.
Is it Human Rights or Malala Rights....I think there is no human other than Malala in out country
This is ridiculous. Shias are being gunned down everyday in Pakistan and the state does nothing...and now this !
Our resident Indian trolls will be 'very very' displeased with this result.
@TightPatloon:
You are kidding right?
All human rights violator countries vote each other into the Human Rights Council.
@TightPatloon: i have 1 word for all the points u stated..........."LOL"..................
lol @ comments from indians haha
You have to be kidding me.
Seems like the world is finally realising that the difference between Pakistan's democratically elected civilian government and the Deep State. A record number of legilslation has been passed during past four years to curb violence against women, barbaric customs like karo kari and labor exploitation among other things. The moratarium on death penaly is also feather in the cap. While minorities and selected sects continue to be targeted the federal government has remained on the right side rather than apologising for those that kill in the name of religion, ego or sheer idiocy/l something worth being cherished in itself.
Now all of a sudden the world is a beautiful place and nobody hates Pakistan and Islam. The fact is the world community bends over backward to accommodate Pakistan and this is a clear example of that.
Just more self-protective flocking to UN human rights bodies which is quite common among developing countries. They don't want to be berated, so they appropriate the pulpit.
Bush didn't do many things right but boycotting the UN human rights Council was one of them. An organization which is devolving into it's predecessor dominated by human rights abusers who's primary goal is political maneuvers to protect themselves. Pakistan sitting on this council makes as much sense as Iran sitting on the Women's Rights council.
Funny :D
I hope that after the election of Pakistan to UN Human Rights Council, human rights violations in Pakistan should drastically be decreased.
There is a long list of human rights violations in Pakistan which cannot be expressed in few lines.
Amazing voters at UN... Didn't they see pk's human right history?
It is heart warming to know that the International community has endorsed the significant strides made by Pakistan in the fields of female empowerment, protecting minorities, and promoting inter faith harmony. Pakistan now must build from this foundation