Thailand loses bid to join UN rights body
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Thailand has failed to secure one of four vacant seats on the UN Human Rights Council , losing out to four others Asian countries, namely India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Qatar.
The UN General Assembly elected 15 new members of the 47member Council on Tuesday at the UN Headquarters here in New York.
With only four Asian seats available, Qatar edged out Thailand with 142 votes compared to Bangkok’s 136. India got the most votes with 162, Indonesia received with 152, and Bangladesh 149.
The defeat is a blow to Thai government that has coup leader as the prime minister. Prayut Chanocha’s government has been criticised of violating human rights and continuing to impose the martial law as a means of keeping control of the country.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the UN Human Rights Council addresses human rights violations and makes recommendations on them. It discusses thematic human rights issues, reviews countries’ rights records, and acts on complaints.
The newly elected members will serve a 3year term and will start work in January. They are not eligible for reelection after two consecutive terms.
Among the four seats, India and Indonesia won their bids for reelection. The Philippines got one vote, even though it did not campaign for reelection. Manila is already a member of the Council and will end its term this year.
In its campaign, Indonesia pledged to promote religious freedom and tolerance as the world’s third largest democracy, and the biggest Muslimmajority nation.
Besides Thailand, Costa Rica was the other candidate that lost a seat but for the Latin America and Caribbean States group.
