Libya, Qatar, and Zimbabwe were among members of the UN’s 54-nation Economic and Social Council, a principal organ of the world body, who voted on July 26th to single out Israel as the only country in the world to be rebuked by the council this year for allegedly violating women’s rights.

In a resolution adopted 37 to 6, with 4 abstentions (see breakdown below), the Jewish state was accused of being  a “major obstacle” for Palestinian women “with regard to the fulfilment of their rights, and their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society.”

The council declared that women and girls are impacted by the “continuing systematic violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people by Israel, the occupying Power.”

Despite the resolution’s global references to violence against women “in all its different forms and manifestations worldwide,” and to the need to eliminate violence against women in “all regions of the world,” Israel was the only country in the world targeted for criticism.

Cuba, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela were among the resolution’s sponsors, via the Group of 77, a bloc now made up of 134 states and represented this year by Cuba.

Out of 19 items on the UN Economic and Social Council’s 2023 agenda, only one—Item No. 16 against Israel—targeted a specific country. All the other focus areas concern general topics, such as disaster relief and the use of technology for development.

2/ According to the World Economic Forum's 2023 Global Gender Gap Report, the world's worst violators of women's rights include Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, DR Congo, Mali, Algeria, Qatar, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. None was condemned by @UNECOSOC. Only Israel. pic.twitter.com/rUNAUXCCdw

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) August 8, 2023

UN Ignores Palestinian Abuses, Violators Worldwide

The resolution turns a blind eye to how Palestinian women’s rights are impacted by their own governing authorities — the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and Hamas in Gaza. Nor does it make any criticism or any reference at all as to how women and girls are discriminated against within patriarchal Palestinian society. On the contrary, the resolution praises what it calls Palestinian “initiatives at the legislative, administrative and security levels to advance women’s rights.”

“ECOSOC’s 2023 session completely ignored the world’s worst abusers of women’s rights, refusing to pass a single resolution on the situation of women in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Iran, Algeria, Chad or Mali, which rank among the 10 worst violators of women’s rights in the world, according to the 2023 Global Gender Gap Report, produced by the World Economic Forum,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch.

Neuer condemned the delegates’ “hijacking” of the UN body as a forum to target Israel. “At a time when rape is used as a tactic of war in Libya, UN experts have accused the Taliban in Afghanistan of ‘gender apartheid,’ Nigeria has 20 million female genital mutilation survivors, women can face jail time in Qatar for reporting sexual assault, and Zimbabwean women leaders are subjected to politically-motivated sexual violence and bullying, it is the theatre of the absurd for these misogynistic regimes to be singling out Israel — alone in the world — as an alleged violator of women’s rights,” said Neuer.

Britain & America Take the Floor to Call out Bias

Britain and the United States both took the floor to denounce the resolution’s selectivity. “We oppose the singling out and disproportionate focus on Israel in this resolution,” said the British delegate.

“We remain troubled by this body’s insistence on including political elements and one-sided condemnations that detract from the real challenges at hand,” said the American representative.

“This council needs to refocus its energy toward shared goals, as this resolution is unhelpful to all involved. Politicizing these issues brings into question the impartiality of assistance that so many provide to assist Palestinian women.”

“Politicized resolutions such as this do nothing to improve the situation. As such, we have no choice but to vote against this resolution,” added the American delegate.

UN Watch Calls Out France, Belgium, Italy For ‘Joining the Jackals’ 

UN Watch commended Britain, the United States, Canada, Czechia and Liberia for joining Israel in opposing the one-sided text.

“Yet we are disappointed in those democracies which joined the jackals in scapegoating the Jewish state, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and South Korea,” said Neuer.

ECOSOC also condemned Israel in a second resolution for allegedly violating the economic and social rights of Palestinians.

Discussion of the resolutions followed the presentation of a biased report by Tarik Alami, representative of the Beirut-based Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the UN regional body for the Middle East that includes 18 Arab states, but not Israel.

Results of the vote to rebuke Israel on women’s rights:

37 YES: Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lao, Libya, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, South Korea, Slovenia, Sweden, Tunisia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe.

6 NO: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Israel, Liberia.

4 ABSTAIN: Croatia, Guatemala, Ivory Coast, Slovakia.

____________________________________

Article by Jilly Rolnick, 2022-2023 Morris B. Abram Fellow at UN Watch.

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Glad to be elected as vice-president of @UN_Women Executive Board for Asia-Pacific Group for 2019 🇾🇪 https://t.co/guYMfal97q

— Marwan Ali Noman (@MarwanAliNoman) January 8, 2019

“Glad to be elected,” tweeted Yemeni deputy ambassador Mr. Marwan Ali Noman. “Warmest congrats Marwan, all the best mate!!” replied Mr. Murad Hussein Issa, a Yemeni delegate to the UN Human Rights Council.

No joke: @UN_Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, just elected 🇾🇪 #Yemen — ranked as the worst country in the world on gender inequality (149th out of 149) — to be Vice-President of its Executive Board. pic.twitter.com/sW3x9KofSt

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) January 9, 2019

The post UN Elects Yemen, Worst on Gender Equality, as VP at UN's Gender Equality Agency appeared first on UN Watch.

• April 2017: Saudi Arabia elected to UN Commission on Status of Women. Belgium and at least four other EU states voted for the Saudis.

• April 2018: Saudi Arabia elected to the Executive Board of UN Women, also known as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

Saudi Arabia elected as new member to the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Saudi Arabia looks forward to working alongside our fellow members starting in January 2019 pic.twitter.com/CZw8hgrxZN

— Saudi Arabia Mission to the UN 🇸🇦 (@ksamissionun) April 16, 2018

• June 2018: Saudi Arabia’s candidate elected UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, a 23-member expert body that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, reviews country reports and adopts recommendations, receives complaints from individuals or groups concerning violations of rights protected under the Convention, initiates inquiries into situations of grave or systematic violations of women’s rights, and formulates general recommendations regarding the Convention.

Telling: Saudi ambassador (left) wouldn't even shake her hand—his regime's winning candidate. Whole thing is absurd: Electing Saudi Arabia's rep to the 23-member UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is like making a pyromaniac into the town fire chief. pic.twitter.com/ElsALRlWpD

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) June 18, 2018

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On Friday, the @UN women's rights commission (@UN_CSW):
1. Condemned 1 country in the world as a a violator of women's rights: #Israel
2. Welcomed #SaudiArabia as new member, joining #Iranhttps://t.co/McKEcmRGIP

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) March 25, 2018

The Jewish state was harshly and repeatedly condemned in the resolution for allegedly being the “major obstacle” for Palestinian women “with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society.”
The resolution made no mention of how Palestinian women’s rights are impacted by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, or their patriarchal society, nor were Palestinian victims of honor killings mentioned.
The UN commission ended the session by ignoring the world’s major abusers of women’s rights, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and many others.
Worse, Saudi Arabia officially joined the CSW later that afternoon, joining Iran as a member.
Here is the resolution adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women on March 23, 2018. The vote was 30 in favour and 4 against (UK, Canada, Guatemala, Israel), with 11 abstentions. The U.S. is not a member of the CSW.

 

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10. Denied Venezuelan Hunger: In the first-ever U.N. visit to Venezuela, Alfred de Zayas, the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Cuban-backed “Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order,” posted propaganda photos to deny mass hunger caused by the regime’s failed policies.

After UN Watch exposed the sick lie—in truth, Venezuelan hospitals are filled with starving children—the U.N. official was pressured into deleting his blog post and tweet.

9. Foxes to Guard the Chickens: The U.N. elected Qatar (slave labor), Pakistan (death row for Christian ‘blasphemers’), Democratic Republic of Congo (mass rape as weapon of war), Afghanistan (abuse of women) and Angola (corrupt & oppressive regime) to the 47-nation Human Rights Council, for 3-year terms beginning in January 2018. Existing members already include Saudi Arabia, China, Cuba and Venezuela.
UN Watch led the protest with a major report and social media campaign, cited in AP, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Deutsche Welle & Spain’s EFE.

8. Mugabe as Goodwill Ambassador: In October, the U.N.’s World Health Organization named Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe a “goodwill ambassador.”
UN Watch’s protest sparked world outrage—generating a blitz of media reports in CNN, Washington Post, Newsweek and 140 other news agencies. Eventually, donor states including the U.S., Britain and Canada protested, and the dictator was dropped. A month later, Mugabe was overthrown—no thanks to the United Nations, which had only sought to legitimize him.

7. Making Putin the Victim: U.N. expert Idriss Jazairy (above), a former Algerian diplomat, published a report astoundingly concluding that Russia was a victim of human rights violations—due, he said, to U.S. and EU “unilateral coercive measures.”

UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer took the floor in the Human Rights Council to question the ethics of Jazairy’s office recently accepting $50,000 from Russia. Jazairy lashed out at UN Watch, and denied any influence. The story was reported worldwide by AP, The Independent, and Radio Free Europe.

 6. U.N. Punished Whistleblower for Trying to Stop Outing of Chinese Dissidents: The U.N. human rights office retaliated against employee Emma Reilly after she tried to stop the dangerous hand-over to China of names of dissidents slated to attend a Human Rights Council session. An independent watchdog also called for Prince Zeid al-Hussein (above), the U.N. rights chief, to be suspended and placed under investigation for his alleged mistreatment of whistleblowers such as Anders Kompass, who tried to stop peacekeepers raping children in Central African Republic, and Miranda Brown, who exposed the U.N. transfer of unlicensed shipments of U.S. computers and firewalls to North Korea.

5. Rewarding Genocidal Syria: The U.N. elected Syria’s genocidal regime to a senior post on a decolonization committee charged with opposing the “subjugation, domination and exploitation” of people. The propaganda victory was quickly trumpeted by the Assad regime.

4. Honoring Qaddafi Agent: In March, the U.N. Human Rights Council opening session gave a position of honor to its Advisory Committee member Jean Ziegler, co-founder and 2002 recipient of the “Muammar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize.” Two weeks later, Eric Tistounet, a top official of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, joined a panel showering praise upon Ziegler as a great “intellectual.”

UN Watch protested in a detailed letter that documented’s Ziegler’s despicable record of siding with murderous regimes.
Executive Director Hillel Neuer took the floor in the Council to challenge Ziegler to his face: “I have a question for the panel member who in 1989 co-founded the Mummar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize, and who went to Tripoli, Libya, on Sept. 29, 2002, to himself win that prize.”
“Given that this Council eventually reversed its policy on the Qaddafi regime, and suspended Libya in 2011 for its gross and systematic abuses, do you regret your actions? The Swiss media reported that the prize was worth 100,000 Swiss Francs. Would you consider returning these funds to the Libyan people?”

3. Purges Teachers, Now on UNESCO Board: In November, the U.N. agency for education, science & culture elected Turkey to its executive board—barely one year after President Erodgan summarily fired 100,000 teachers, university deans, academics, judges, and other officials. Erodogan persecuted heroic journalists like Can Dundar and Yavuz Baydar, yet will now be a U.N. judge of press freedom. Turkish propaganda celebrated the win, as reported by UN Watch.

2. Mother of All Rogues’ Galleries: In September, the U.N. Human Rights Council assembled the most despicable single panel of presenters in its 70-year history, legitimized by the presence and speech of a former top official of Human Rights Watch. The subject was “unilateral coercive measures,” i.e., why Western sanctions against oppressive regimes like Russia, Sudan, or Venezuela, are supposedly illegal.
Left to right: Jean Ziegler, a UNHRC advisor who founded and won the Qaddafi Prize, used his slot to openly defend the Maduro regime and to attack Venzuela’s political prisoners; Idriss Jazairy, a U.N. expert who as Algerian diplomat was the greatest enemy of legitimate U.N. human rights experts; Peggy Hicks, representative of High Commissioner Zeid al-Hussein and former U.N. rep of Ken Roth’s Human Rights Watch, was silent as Ziegler praised Venezuela; Jorge Valero, ambassador of the oppressive Maduro regime, the official moderator of the panel; Alena Douhan, a Belarus academic with a soft spot for Russia, whose doctorate was on the principle of “non-interference” in countries’ “internal affairs”; and Alfred de Zayas, expert of the UNHRC whose World War II revisionist history has made him a hero to Holocaust deniers.
UN Watch was the only voice at the United Nations to take the floor, in the Council and outside, to challenge this perversion of human rights.


1. Saudi Arabia Elected to U.N. Women’s Rights Commission: In April, the 54-nation Economic and Social Council elected Saudi Arabia to the U.N.’s women’s rights commission, despite its horrific subjugation of women. UN Watch’s report went completely viral, quoted in CNN, Newsweek, the leading papers of France, Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy—and even in Teen Vogue.
When UN Watch also revealed that at least five European Union states voted for the Saudis, a major scandal erupted in Belgium—the prime minister was forced to admit their immoral vote and he apologized—and controversies erupted in the parliaments and media of Ireland, Norway and Sweden. Click for video.
 

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“Qatari women are subject to discrimination in law and practice, particularly in relation to divorce, inheritance, child custody, nationality and freedom of movement. A male guardian and male witnesses are required to validate a marriage contract. Women are prohibited from passing citizenship to their children, have fewer inheritance rights than men, and their testimony in court is not weighted equally with that of a man.”

“Qatari penalties for sex outside of marriage are flogging for non-married violators or the death penalty for married violators. According to media reports, there have been dozens of floggings for this crime since 2016. Furthermore, in 2016, a Dutch woman was sentenced to one-year imprisonment and deported for engaging in extramarital sex after she reported that she had been raped,” said Neuer.

“In addition, Qatar is notorious for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and its Palestinian offshoot, Hamas, and also has close ties with the Taliban and al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria and Iran.”

UNHRC Election & Qatar’s Failed UNESCO Bid 

The Human Rights Council today elected Vojislav Šuc of Slovenia as its president for 2018, and German ambassador Antje Leednertse as one of the four vice presidents, but unlike in typical years, three of the other VP spots—for Asia, Africa, and Latin America—were not yet identified.
In November, Qatar’s bid for Director-General of UNESCO was rejected in favor of France’s Audrey Azoulay, despite substantial lobbying efforts including Qatari candidate Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari flying 10 UNESCO board members to Doha on an all-expenses paid trip ahead of the vote.
 
 

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The UN’s 45-member Commission on the Status of Women, meeting in its 2017 annual session, singled out Israel as the only country in the world subjected to a condemnatory resolution on women’s rights. 

The Jewish state was harshly and repeatedly condemned in the resolution for allegedly being the “major obstacle” for Palestinian women “with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society.”

The resolution made no mention of how Palestinian women’s rights are impacted by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, or their patriarchal society, nor were Palestinian victims of honor killings mentioned.

The UN commission ended the session by ignoring the world’s major abusers of women’s rights, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and many others.

Here is the resolution adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women on March 22, 2017, and then subsequently ratified by its parent body, the Economic and Social Council. The vote in the CSW was 30 to 1 (Israel), with 12 abstentions (and 2 apparently absent).

The protocols of the meeting:

At the 12th meeting, on 22 March, the representative of Ecuador, on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China, taking into account the provisions of General Assembly resolution 52/250 of 7 July 1998, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women” (E/CN.6/2017/L.3).
At the 13th meeting, on 24 March, the Commission was informed that the draft resolution contained no programme budget implications.
At the same meeting, Turkey joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
Also at the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution by a recorded vote of 30 to 1, with 12 abstentions, and recommended it to the Economic and Social Council for its adoption (see chap. I, sect. B). The voting was as follows:
In favour:
Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Guyana, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Malawi, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay.
Against: Israel.
Abstaining: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Guatemala, Japan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom.
After the vote, a statement was made by the observer for the State of Palestine.

(Source: CSW Report on the 61^st session)

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GENEVA, June 12, 2017 – The chair of today’s UN Human Rights Council debate, council vice-president Amr Ahmed Ramadan of Egypt, broke with parliamentary protocol and refused to thank the representative of UN Watch after he challenged a new report that blames Israel for when Palestinian men commit violence against women, and asked why Islamic preachers of wife-beating were ignored.
The U.N. expert — who slammed Israeli counter-terrorism measures for their “gendered impact” on Palestinian women yet failed to cite Palestinian stabbings or rocket attacks for their “gendered impact” on Israeli women — failed to answer UN Watch director Hillel Neuer’s question about the source of her data for blaming Israel for Palestinian violence against women. See below.

__________________

Testimony before the U.N. Human Rights Council by Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, June 12, 2017.
Mr. Chairman, today’s report on Israel and the Palestinian territories provides important information on women targeted by violence.
Regrettably, however, the report is undermined by its subservience to one recurring unproven assumption. As highlighted by the rapporteur, that is the “clear linkage between the prolonged occupation and violence against women.”
Ms. Simonovic, in other words, what you are saying is as follows: “When Palestinian men beat their wives, it’s Israel’s fault.”
In this regard, I wish to pose some questions:
First: how do you know there is a “clear linkage”? Where is the data? I don’t see it anywhere in the report, not in Addendum 1 or 2.
Is it right to continue infantilizing Palestinians, such that when a man in Ramallah beats his wife, we encourage him to say ‘Israel made me do it’?
Your report speak of Israeli actions that create pressure. Well, maybe. Yet there may be a myriad of other influences. How do you know which is significant?
It would be interesting, for example, to examine comparable populations in in Lebanon, Jordan, Sinai and Egypt, and to see if there are differences in the rate of violence against women. Ms. Simonovic, why have you not done so? Where is the data?
Second: You make a passing reference to the influence of “tradition and culture.” Do you mean Palestinian, Arab or Muslim tradition? You don’t say which, and don’t seem to be interested in this key factor in the Middle East.
Why did you fail to mention that official Palestinian TV regularly broadcasts Islamic preachers who tell the people how to beat their wives?
On February 8, 2016, for example, Hassan al-Laham, the Mufti of Gaza, quoting the Koran and the Hadith, advised husbands on how to beat their wives, recommending: “Hitting that does not make her ugly; in other words, not hitting that will bring the police… The hitting will be like a joke.  The hitting is a kind of reminder that the love and friendship that Allah commanded is still found between the couple.”
Ms. Simonovic, while you find numerous indirect ways to blame Israel, how could you omit these forms of direct incitement? Why do you not mention terrorism against Israeli women?

Chair of Session, UNHRC Vice-President Amr Ahmed Ramadan: 

“I would like to say thank you, but I can’t—because I think that you need to respect this Council more in the next days.”

Response of Dubravka Šimonovic, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women:

Click here for video of response.

But maybe just one sentence before closing. A question from NGO with respect to situation when Palestinian man is beating his wife and is it then the responsibility of Israel.

Here I would like to respond that in each and every country, any man who is beating his wife is responsible – he is perpetrator of violence. But when we are speaking about human rights responsibility and due diligence responsibility, then we are at a different level, because states have due diligence responsibility to prevent violence against women and to establish measures to prevent such violence; to punish perpetrators of violence and to provide compensation to victims.

Of course, each case should be analyzed as a specific case and we have to determine who is responsible for what, but it is not possible to have such generalization, as was done by that NGO representative.

Text of the Reports

Here is how the two reports presented today before the UNHRC by Dubravka Šimonovic, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, argue that Israel is to blame for Palestinian violence against women.

Mission to Israel Report:

• “the Rapporteur highlights the clear linkage between the prolonged occupation and violence against women” (par. 10)

Mission to the State of Palestine:

• “the mandate holder highlights the clear linkage between the prolonged occupation and violence against women” (par. 11)
• “The Special Rapporteur noted that violence against women occurs both in private and public spheres, women suffering multiple sources of discrimination and violence: they suffer the violence of the Israeli occupation, whether directly or indirectly…” (pars. 23, repeated at par. 90)
• “the economic situation, the level of unemployment and the pressure of the occupation have a greater impact on
  women’s and children’s lives, making them more vulnerable to domestic violence, in particular in Gaza, due to the constant pressure felt by the blockade and the recurring cycles of conflict, and the overcrowding that limits their mobility and privacy. It was noted, in particular in relation to the situation in Gaza that the political situation also serves as “mitigating circumstance” that makes violence against women more acceptable…” (par. 32)
• There is also an increased pressure for girls to get married where in the context of the occupation, marriage being seen as a coping strategy but also to cover up rape and incest. (par. 39)
• “the occupation is a real obstacle to the State [of Palestine]’s due diligence obligation to prevent violence against women in areas where it does not have full jurisdiction…” (par. 47)
• Decades of Israeli occupation in parallel with the continuation of patriarchal attitude in Palestinian society expose women to subordination and continuing violence” (par. 54)

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• La Libre, a widely circulated Belgian French daily, published the story quoting UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer: “petro-dollars make it possible to buy everything, even a political profit.”

• Le Soir, Belgium’s other main French daily, also quoted Hillel Neuer in its story.

• De Standaard, Belgium’s main Flemish daily accused the Belgian government of having voted to elect Saudi Arabia and quoted UN Watch’s statement that five European countries had to have voted for Saudi Arabia in order for it to get elected.

• The Belgian news agency Belga, headlined its story: “Belgium has probably supported the accession of Saudi Arabia to the UN committee on the Rights of Women.”

• Belgian politicians castigated the government. On April 26, 2017, Belgian MP Wouter de Vriendt asked a parliamentary question about Belgium’s vote and said: “A positive vote from Belgium is simply shocking.” Els Van Hoof of the Christian Democrats said that defending a ‘yes’ vote is equivalent to admitting a vote for the misogynistic regime. Yasmine Kherbache of the Socialist Party accused the government of legitimizing “a regime that violates women’s rights every day.”

• On April 26, 2017, the government responds: Foreign Minister Didier Reynders issued a contradictory statement about the vote. He refused to confirm how Belgium voted, but justified the election of Saudi Arabia on multiple grounds. He said: “I strongly support multilateral meetings… including with countries with which we do not share the same opinions” and “Not entering into a debate with countries with which we do not agree within multilateral organizations involves a tremendous risk.”
  He also defended the decision on pragmatic grounds, suggesting that the election should have proceeded, as usual, without a vote in this type of situation where Saudi Arabia was running unopposed because “Western countries are far from holding a majority at the UN, and this may end up making it so that we are no longer elected to organizations of this type.”
  At the same time, he said that “Belgium is in no way pleased with the election of Saudi Arabia onto this commission.” Deputy Prime Minister Alexander de Croo did not disclose Belgium’s vote, but appeared surprised and said that he would not have voted in favor of Saudi Arabia.

• On April 27, 2017, the government took a different tone. Prime Minister Charles Michel said he regretted the vote and that: “If we could do it again and if it was possible to proceed with a political assessment at the government level, I of course would have pleaded against a favorable vote.” He also reportedly called for the resignation of Foreign Minister Reynders over his handling of the matter. For his part, Foreign Minister Reynders said that he wants to change Belgium’s procedure for voting for candidates at the UN.

De Redactie: Reynders wil geen wapens meer naar Saudi-Arabië uitvoeren

Belgian Government, coalition partners and opposition parties regarding the notice Reynders had of the vote:

Green Party opposition meanwhile caught mails showing that Minister Reynders almost had a day to answer. It is now awaiting what explanation Reynders comes to the committee. According to various members of the opposition, the MR minister carries the political responsibility in this dossier. On Sunday, coalition partners CD & V understood that they believed that Reynders was “politically” unaware. If it turns out that’s not true, “there’s a problem,” said CD & V-member Els Van Hoof.

Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF): Arabie Saoudite à l’ONU: Marcourt dénonce “l’écran de fumée de Didier Reynders
Belgian Government:

Heard in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber, Didier Reynders in his turn apologizes to those shocked by the Belgian vote in favor of Saudi Arabia for a place in the UN Committee on the Status of Women .
He reaffirmed once again that he was not personally aware and said he wanted to re-establish relations with Saudi Arabia, notably relaunching the debate on the arms embargo, a very sensitive issue in Wallonia . A manoeuvre described by Minister Marcourt as a “smoke screen”, because “Didier Reynders is in great difficulty”.

Asked about the issue, Prime Minister Charles Michel said ” regret the vote expressed on the Belgian side “, pretexting a lack of time on the side of diplomats to see what position to adopt.
Nevertheless, a letter tends to show that the Cabinet of Foreign Affairs was aware as well as that of Alexander De Croo. Reynders denies, saying that ” there is no contradiction between the Prime Minister and me.” He stressed that a negative vote by Belgium would not have changed much, but admitted that the procedure had to be changed.

The Prime Minister told the House that contacts were taking place between New York and the ” ministry “. And he spoke of the very short period of time in which he had to act, ” a few hours ” according to him, ” three hours “, according to Didier Reynders. However, the e-mails show that the decision was taken by Reynders, at least nine hours after the solicitation, taking into account the informal exchanges.

“Even if it finally turns out that Minister Reynders was not personally informed about the voting process, he must endorse the political responsibility of his cabinet”

La Libre: L’Arabie Saoudite élue à la Commission… des droits des femmes de l’ONU: “Un pyromane chef des pompiers”
Quoting UN Watch:

L’Arabie Saoudite a été élue à la Commission des droits des femmes de l’ONU. “C’est comme désigner un pyromane chef des pompiers de la ville”, commente Hillel Neuer, directeur exécutif de l’organisation UN Watch. La nomination de Riyad, régime salafiste qui fait partie des pays les plus misogynes au monde, au sein d’un organe de 45 pays censé s’investir dans “la promotion de l’égalité hommes-femmes et l’autonomisation des femmes” a de quoi surprendre.
Les Nations Unies envoient un signal selon lequel “les petro-dollars permettent de tout acheter, même un profit politique”, estime M. Neuer.

Knack: “Schande dat België instemde met Saudi-Arabië in VN-vrouwenrechtencommissie”

Belgian politician criticizes the vote: 

“A ‘yes’ vote from Belgium is simply shocking and punched in the stomach of anyone who fights for women’s rights,” says De Vriendt. Minister Reynders not dare to divest Saudi Arabia for the head and he legitimizes the country is an example of how not to worldwide violations of women Women are victims of systematic discrimination.. Not by car may ride, politics should play no role, not only movements and even decisions (financial, in terms of marriage, …) which are only taken by the man. “

De Standaard: Gêne om stem voor Saudi’s
Quoted UN Watch: 

Volgens de ngo UN-Watch zouden daar vijf Europese lidstaten bij geweest zijn. Het was de Belgische vertegenwoordiger bij de VN, ex-kabinetschef Marc Pecsteen, die de zaak ter plekke afhandelde.

Belgian Government:

“Our vote was then decided at the diplomatic level,” reports the Minister Reynders. “Belgium was indeed taken into speed,” confirms Van Hoof, “but we have to prepare ourselves better.”

Reynders himself meanwhile stressed the importance of dialogue, ‘how small the chances are that it seems to work. ” Even Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD), the news tried to put a positive spin. “I prefer to speak with people who have a different opinion, then they turn their backs and to be sure that nothing will improve for the women there.”

Peter De Roover (N-VA) hopes that Belgium has at least tried “to move the European countries collectively to a no vote. That the Saudis still sit on the committee, has major consequences for him. “As long as that country is in the Women’s Committee, the N-VA regards the commission as totally irrelevant. We will not accept any report of that body.”

Le Soir: C’est vous qui le dites sur le vote belge pour l’Arabie saoudite: «Bande d’irresponsables!»
Quoted UN Watch: 

L’Arabie saoudite a été élue en début de semaine à la Commission des droits des femmes de l’ONU. Une élection très critiquée. « C’est comme désigner un pyromane chef des pompiers de la ville », avait commenté Hillel Neuer, directeur exécutif de l’organisation United Nations Watch.

Belgian Prime Minister voices regret:

Faced with such controversy, Prime Minister Charles Michel said he regretted Belgium’s vote on the entry of Saudi Arabia into the UN Women’s Law Commission.
If the explanations of Charles Michel were relatively well perceived, the PS asks on the other hand ”  the eventual resignation  ” of Didier Reynders, Minister of the Foreign Affairs, if it were proved that he ”  lied  ” on the decision to vote in favor Of Saudi Arabia. The latter had, indeed, argued in committee not to have been aware of this vote. A statement that has difficulty to pass as well to the government as to the Belgians.

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