GENEVA, June 18, 2018 – UN Watch today expressed grave concern that Saudi Arabia, considered by many to be the most misogynistic regime in the world, has now secured key positions on the UN’s three principal women’s rights bodies:
- 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
