GENEVA – The Pacific island of Fiji was elected president of the United Nations’ leading human rights body on Friday, ending a shadowy proxy struggle by China, Russia and Saudi Arabia to bolster their influence by nominate a more consistent candidate.
Fiji won, with the support of 29 countries in a secret ballot from the 47 members of the Human Rights Council, who defied the challenge of Bahrain, which received 14 votes, and Uzbekistan, which received four votes.
The result puts the small, remote island nation, which has a record of support for human rights initiatives, in a leadership position at a time of increasing competition between states over their rights abuses.
China and Russia will return as members of the council in 2021, giving voice to two powerful nations that have been widely criticized for violating human rights. Human rights groups say the council has been effective in highlighting many of the worst crises, and hopes the incoming U.S. government of Elected President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will strengthen the role by reconnecting with the body, in which President Trump quits. 2018.
“The victory of Fiji is a victory for those who believe that the Human Rights Council should be used to defend human rights,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “The fact that Fiji’s candidacy is opposed by China, Russia and Saudi Arabia reflects the determination of these and other autocratic governments to advance the work of the Human Rights Council.”
The council’s president has a significant influence on his priorities and the choice of independent experts to report on human rights violators and their misdeeds. The president is also responsible for pushing back states that want to thwart the council’s work by cracking down on people working with the inquiry.
Fiji announced its candidacy in July 2020, and, initially unchallenged, it looks like it’s a chance to work. His ambassador, Nazhat Shameem Khan, a lawyer who was trained in Cambridge and became Fiji’s first female judge in the High Court, is respected in the diplomatic community of Geneva and was a vice-president of the council. In the Council, Fiji investigated abuses in Venezuela, the Philippines, Belarus, Syria and Yemen.
These positions, which are fiercely opposed to China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, apparently prompted Bahrain to make a late bid for the post, and it began weeks of maneuvering in the group of countries in the Asia-Pacific. Fiji trying to push to step aside.
Human rights activists have attacked Bahrain for oppressing critics at home and for refusing to cooperate with United Nations human rights organizations, which critics say are disqualified for its bid.
“It was quite fistful, there was no pretense that there was even support for human rights,” he said. Roth said and described Bahrain’s attempt as a hard attempt to install a candidate who ‘is going to do the dirty work of Saudi Arabia’.
As the match moved to a vote in the council, where Fiji enjoyed strong support, China publicly downplayed its opposition and issued statements that it would be pleased to see any of the candidates elected, including Fiji.
But diplomats and human rights groups say the outcome gives Beijing cause for concern. China is intensifying in the United Nations over the incarceration of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and the harsh action against democracy in Hong Kong.
Elected President Biden has promised a return to multilateral institutions such as the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement, which President Trump has abandoned. Mr. Biden has also promised to emphasize human rights in his foreign policy, but he has yet to take a public stand on the return to the council, which has influential critics in the United States, especially among supporters of Israel.
Fiji’s success “undoubtedly makes it easier for Biden to bring the US back into the council rather than having a country with a demonstrably poor human rights record in its post,” said Marc Limon, director of the Geneva based Universal Rights Group, said.
Beijing has so far avoided direct criticism by the Human Rights Council, although that may change, Mr. Roth said. A council decision last year to investigate systemic racism in the United States and other countries has set a precedent for action targeting world powers.
“If Biden really makes an effort to pull other governments together to condemn China,” he said. Roth said, “it could reflect the balance and for the first time we can see judgmental decisions about China coming out of the council.”