Saudi Arabia ellected as U.N. Human Rights Council last tusday for year 2014 - 2016

Delegates and representatives listen during the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review session at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva October 29, 2013.

CREDIT: REUTERS/DENIS BALIBOUSE

(Reuters) - China, Cuba, Russia and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday won three-year seats on the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the United Nations' top rights body, despite concerns about abuses and restrictions on freedoms in all four nations.

Also winning seats on the 47-nation council were Algeria, Britain, France, Mexico, the Maldives, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, Vietnam, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The annual election for one-third of the council's membership was held in the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly.

South Sudan and Uruguay failed to win election to the council in competitive slates for their respective regional groups. The other regions had uncontested ballots.

The newly elected countries will be on the council from 2014 through 2016.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said the newly elected members of the council include "some that commit significant violations of the rights the council is designed to advance and protect" and that the election itself was a reminder that the council's work remains unfinished.

Power did not specify which countries she was referring to. Peggy Hicks of Human RightsWatch was more specific.

"With the return of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Cuba, human rights defenders will have their work cut out for them at the Human Rights Council next year," said Hicks, an expert at the New York-based advocacy group.

"Fortunately, no states have a veto in Geneva so a hard-working majority can still achieve concrete results."

Hicks said members of council that are committed to human rights will need to redouble their efforts on a number of problems. These include the civil war in Syria, accountability for crimes committed during the final months of Sri Lanka's civil war and the conflict in the Central African Republic.

According to U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based advocacy group that monitors the United Nations, only four of the 16 candidates for the 14 open seats were qualified to be members of the council on the basis of their human rights records. They were Britain, France, Macedonia and Mexico.

Iran and Syria had been planning to run for the Human Rights Council but pulled out amid criticism of their rights records.

QUESTIONABLE RIGHTS RECORDS

There was a small protest against China's policy on Tibet across the street from the United Nations as the vote took place.

Western countries accused China last month of arresting activists, curbing Internet use and suppressing ethnic minorities, as the United Nations formally reviewed its rights record for the first time since Xi Jinping became president in March.

Saudi Arabia's human rights record has also came under fire at the United Nations with critics accusing the kingdom last month of jailing activists without due process and abusing the basic rights of Saudi women and foreign workers.

Jordan withdrew from the election after Saudi Arabia abandoned its seat on the U.N. Security Council to protest against the 15-nation body's inaction on Syria, the Middle East peace process and Iran. Western diplomats said Jordan stepped aside to allow the Saudis an almost certain victory on the uncontested Human Rights Council voting slate. Despite its withdrawal from the election, Jordan received 16 votes.

Jordan is set to take Saudi Arabia's Security Council seat, diplomats say, although that would require the General Assembly to hold a special election.

In response to criticism of its human rights record, Cuba said in May that it would consider letting in U.N. investigators to examine allegations of torture and repression and allowing Red Cross officials access to its prisons for the first time in nearly 25 years.

The European Union, Human Rights Watch and others have criticized Russia's human rights record as well. They have voiced concerns about restrictive legislation, prosecutions against activists and limits on press freedom.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; editing by Christopher Wilson)

SOURCE, REUTERS

የሳዑዲ ዓረቢያ መንግሥትን ለመቃወም ሠልፍ የወጡና ፖሊስ ተጋጩ

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የሳዑዲ ዓረቢያ መንግሥትን ለመቃወም ሠልፍ የወጡና ፖሊስ ተጋጩ

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-ቁጥራቸው ያልታወቀ የሠልፉ ተሳታፊዎች ታስረዋል 

-መንግሥት ሕገወጥ ሠልፍ በመሆኑ እንዲበተን ተደርጓል አለ

በሳዑዲ ዓረቢያ በሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ላይ እየደረሰ ያለው የግድያ፣ የድብደባና የማንገላታት ድርጊት ያበሳጫቸው የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ነዋሪዎች፣ ኅዳር 6 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም.

ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ በማድረግ ወደ ሳዑዲ ዓረቢያ ኤምባሲ በማምራት ላይ እያሉ ከፌዴራል ፖሊስ ጋር ተጋጩ፡፡ ፈቃድ ያልተጠየቀበት ሕገወጥ ሠልፍ በመሆኑ በፖሊስ ለመበተን እንደተገደደ መንግሥት አስታውቋል፡፡

ሠልፈኞቹ በወሎ ሠፈር አድርገው የሳዑዲ ዓረቢያ ኤምባሲ ከሚገኝበት ከአይቤክስ ሆቴል ወረድ ብሎ በስተግራ በኩል ሲደርሱ፣ ፖሊስ ሠልፉ ሕገወጥ እንደሆነ በመግለጽ እንዲበተኑ ሲጠይቃቸው በተፈጠረ አለመግባባት ድብደባና መንገላታት እንደደረሰባቸው ሠልፈኞቹ ተናግረዋል፡፡

‹‹የአገራችን ዜጐች በሳዑዲ ዓረቢያ እየተገደሉና እየተሰቃዩ ስላሉ ያንን ለመቃወም ወጣን፡፡ የአገራችን ፖሊስ ለምን ይደበድበናል? ምን አደረግን?›› በማለት የሚጠይቁት ሠልፈኞቹ፣ መንግሥት የሳዑዲ ዓረቢያን መንግሥት ድርጊት ለመሸፈን ካልፈለገ በስተቀር፣ በዜጐቹ ላይ እንደዚህ ያለ ድብደባና ወከባ መፈጸም አልነበረበትም ብለዋል፡፡ 

ቁጥራቸው በውል የማይታወቁ ሰዎች በተሳተፉበት የተቃውሞ ሠልፍ ውስጥ የተገኘው አንድ የሰማያዊ ፓርቲ አባል እንደተናገረው፣ መንግሥት እንኳን ያረጋገጠው ሦስት ዜጐቻችን ተገድለዋል፡፡ 23 ሺሕ ዜጐች ደግሞ ባዶ እጃቸውን ወደ አገራቸው እንዲመለሱ እየተደረገ ነው፡፡ ይህና ሌሎች ስቃዮች እየደረሱባቸው ለሚገኙ ዜጐች በሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ተቃውሞ ማቅረብ ሊያስመታና ሊያሳስር እንደማይገባ ተናግሯል፡፡

የመንግሥት ኮሙዩኒኬሽን ጽሕፈት ቤት ሚኒስትር ዴኤታ አቶ ሽመልስ ከማል ሠልፈኞቹ ፈቃድ ሳይጠይቁ መሠለፋቸው አግባብ አይደለም፡፡ ክልክልም ነው ብለዋል፡፡

ለሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ፈቃድ ከሚሰጠው አካል ፈቃድ ሳያገኙ ሠልፍ መውጣት ሕገወጥነት ነው፡፡ ከሠልፈኞቹ ጋር ተደባልቀው የወጡ ፀረ ዓረብ ቅስቀሳ የሚያካሂዱ ተሠላፊዎችም እንደነበሩ አብራርተዋል፡፡ ‹‹ፖሊስ በቁጥጥር ሥር ያዋላቸው አሉ፡፡ ፖሊስ የያዛቸውም ሠልፉ ሕገወጥ በመሆኑ ነው፡፡ የሠልፉ አቀናባሪዎች በሕግ ሊጠየቁ ይችላሉ፤›› ብለዋል፡፡ ፖሊስ በቁጥጥር ሥር ያዋላቸው ምን ያህል እንደሆኑ አልታወቀም፡፡

SOURCE, REPORTER

Wounded in Addis, finished off in Riyadh – Ephrem Madebo

From China to Ethiopia and from Belarus to Saudi Arabia, there is no shortage of repressive regimes in the world. In general, repressive societies are defined as exerting pervasive state control over daily life, banning free speech and political opposition, and practicing severe human rights violations. All of these attributes describe the Ethiopian regime from head to toe, but the TPLF regime in Ethiopia has many more attributes that makes it the worst of the worst. Oppressive regimes don not hate their country, yet the Ethiopian regime does. Even though oppressive regimes kill their citizens for a variety of reasons, they don’t kill out of hatred. The TPLF regime in Ethiopia hunts and kills people that it really hates. Almost all countries of the world, authoritarian or egalitarian, show the utmost concern and respect for their citizens who immigrate to other countries. Ethiopia is visibly different; it is really different, so much so, that the Ethiopian embassies throughout the world (including Saudi) are happily opened for certain kind of people and are inhospitable and closed for everybody else.

In recent years, the oil rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia with its growing economy has been a magnet for migrant workers from Ethiopia and other poor countries of Africa and Asia. Although Ethiopian migrant workers have constantly been harassed, abused and treated like a plug horse by their Saudi employers and the police, many young Ethiopians who have been denied opportunities in their native country, have considered Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Arab states as much better and attractive destinations for hope and better life.

The Ethiopian regime which has a fiduciary responsibility of creating domestic employment has in fact facilitated the migration of young Ethiopians to Saudi and other Gulf States, and its corrupted officials have benefited from this immoral act of “legal human trafficking”. This total neglect of Ethiopians by their own government on one side, and the abundant supply of cheap Ethiopian labor on the other, has encouraged some savage Saudis into believing that they either own or have full control over the migrant workers who work and live with them. As a result, domestic employers, local gangs and the youth mob have assaulted, abused, gang raped, mutilated and even killed helpless Ethiopian migrant workers.

When the Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) saw the persecution to which his followers were subjected to in Mecca, he told them to find safe haven in Ethiopia (aka Abyssinia at the time). His followers trusted their trustworthy leader, and they fled to Ethiopia where they enjoyed the unmatched hospitality of the Ethiopian people. The year was 615 AD, It was the First Hijra (migration); and Ethiopia was its destination. As he would never forget the hospitality and generosity of the Ethiopians, the Prophet Mohammed said: “Abyssinia is a land of justice in which no one is oppressed”

Well, today, 1398 years after the First Hijra, two things have changed dramatically. Ethiopia, hailed as the land of justice by the Prophet, is now the symbol of brutality in Africa. And on the other side, Saudi Arabia, the very land of the Prophet and the Holy Land of Islam, has become the land of acute brutality. Ironically, the victims of this brutality are none than the very people that extended their warm hands to the very first migrants of Islam. In the year 615 AD and thereafter, the people and government of Ethiopia showed their utmost hospitality and love towards the first immigrants of Islam. Today, one of the most repressive and brute regimes in the world, the Saudi regime, is returning the favor with absurdity, brutality, and outright inanity.

I hope the Saudi government understands that there is a fine line between tightening its immigration policy and ill-treating and killing immigrants – I only hope because as brute and as injudicious as the Saudi government is, it is never right and it has never been right on anything related to justice, freedom, and human right. Did I say human rights? Oh! Yes, and it does not get more tangled or meshed than this. The Saudi government is known for its sever human rights violations, and Ethiopia is no better if it is not worse. Many young Ethiopians leave their home land and head to Saudi for two main reasons: employment discrimination and lack of opportunity, and lack of freedom and sever human rights violations at home. In Saudi, well; yes Ethiopians are employed in Saudi, but the assault, the abuse and the torture follows them.

The other very strange and undesirable similarity between Ethiopia and Saudi is that, in a very ironic move, these two repressive regimes and three other countries (Russia, China, and Cuba) with questionable human rights records recently secured seats on none other than the UN Human Rights Council. It’s sad, rather absurd that the Saudi and the Ethiopian governments that torture and kill their own citizens are elected to oversee human rights violations elsewhere in the world.

Obviously, from what has been said, the two oppressive regimes, Ethiopia & Saudi, seem to be complementing each other in abusing Ethiopians. Yes, indeed, these two oppressive regimes are as close as ‘lips and teeth’ where one causes the pain and the other finishes off the patient. I personally applaud the current international effort in support of our people in Saudi, but until we tackle the root cause of the problem, the teamwork of Addis and Riyadh continue, and so does the suffering of our people. Therefore, It is crucially important that we start slashing the lip and sending the teeth into the cold.

Saudi Arabia sees Ethiopia as its bread basket for the future, and the ever gluttonous and cash thirty TPLF regime wants to exploit this need by granting the Saudis a massive amount of cheap & fertile land. Hence the leadership in Riyadh harbors no illusion that it is truly interested in the survival of the TPLF regime so long as Addis can keep its promise of supplying cheap labor and land.

In this dominant-submissive relationship, the Saudis take their own self-interest more seriously and do what they want without worrying about Ethiopia. Swallowing its own feelings and avoiding standing-up for the interest of the Ethiopian people, the bigoted and subservient TPLF regime regards Saudi’s needs as paramount. Hence, Ethiopians go to Saudi as domestic workers where they are assaulted, abused and killed; and the Saudis come to Ethiopia as entrepreneurs and get all the respect they may not be getting in their own country.

What we saw in Riyadh and Addis in the last week or two is the reflection of this dominant-submissive relationship. In Riyadh and many other Saudi cities, Ethiopians who protested against the abusive actions of the Saudi regime were arrested, beaten and killed. In Addis, Ethiopians who tried to protest in front of the Saudi embassy were rounded up by the Ethiopian police and beaten like dogs. As long as this dominant-submissive relationship exists, when we talk about Ethiopia and Saudi, as the political satirist Abe Tokichaw would say; it may be very important to make a distinction between Saudi Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia.

In the last two weeks, I watched hours of gruesome and excruciating video clips from Saudi that made me sick to my bones. The street crackdown, the house to house arrest and beating, the rape, the mutilation and the killings have made me ask . . . is Saudi the Holy Land or the land of brutality?

Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have become the world of mean streets, where bloody killers are operating with the “immortal certainty” that they will never have to pay for the snuffling out of human life. We must make them pay, and we must stop the team work of this brute and savage duo. There are the Ethiopian people, there is the opposition and there are the damn TPLF gangs. We must get rid of the damn gangs!

SOURCE, ABUGIDA