Australia elected to UN human rights council as criticisms surround Congo election

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Australia elected to UN human rights council as criticisms surround Congo election

By Fergus Hunter and Rachel Olding
Updated

Australia will push for tougher scrutiny of countries with "appalling" human rights records after securing a coveted seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says, backing the high-profile campaign for UN reform.

Australia was among 15 countries elected to the council for a three-year term on Tuesday, despite the UN previously criticising the government for its record on the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in detention and Indigenous people.

The UNHCR has previously critised Australia for it's treatments of asylum seekers in detention on Manus Island.

The UNHCR has previously critised Australia for it's treatments of asylum seekers in detention on Manus Island.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

While Britain and the United States criticised the appointment of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was elected uncontested to the 47-member council, Ms Bishop said it was beneficial for countries with records that were "questionable at best" to face the scrutiny of membership.

The DRC - beset by renewed political and militia violence since President Joseph Kabila refused to step down in December - won 151 votes from the 193-member General Assembly in New York.

US ambassador to the UK, Nikki Haley said  Congo's election to the UNHCR harmed the credibility of the body.

US ambassador to the UK, Nikki Haley said Congo's election to the UNHCR harmed the credibility of the body.Credit: AP

"Political repression, civilian attacks, mass graves. What happened in DRC last year makes their election to the Human Rights council entirely disappointing," British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said.

US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who has called for the Human Rights Council votes to be competitive, said Congo's election harmed the credibility of the body.

"Countries that aggressively violate human rights at home should not be in a position to guard the human rights of others," Haley said in a statement.

But Ms Bishop told ABC radio it was "better for countries to be on the council, to be subject to scrutiny, to be accountable and more transparent".

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President Donald Trump, speaking at the UN General Assembly last month, has accused the world body of "chronic anti-Israel bias".

President Donald Trump, speaking at the UN General Assembly last month, has accused the world body of "chronic anti-Israel bias".Credit: Richard Drew

The Foreign Minister said the Australian government recognised the council's failings and would be part of an effort to improve it and the UN more broadly.

This was, she said, "along with the United States, who encouraged us to run in the first place for the Human Rights Council".

Refugees at the Manus Island regional processing centre.

Refugees at the Manus Island regional processing centre.

Ms Bishop said the US was "leading the charge on reforming the council so that countries with appalling human rights records are subject to greater scrutiny and are held accountable".

The United States is reviewing its council membership. It is in the first year of a second term, but President Donald Trump's administration has called for reforms to eliminate what it called its "chronic anti-Israel bias".

Australia's election will attract criticism from human rights groups who point to the country's poor record on Indigenous deaths in custody and on the detention of asylum seekers.

Last month, the UN's refugee agency slammed Australia for removing services and visas for 400 refugees and asylum seekers transferred to Australia for medical purposes.

It was "a blatant attempt to coerce the most vulnerable to return to Papua New Guinea, Nauru, or their countries of origin" and would leave "people at serious risk of destitution in Australia," the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' regional representation in Canberra said in a statement.

"Those who have suffered most under inhumane conditions in Papua New Guinea and Nauru need care and compassion. Refugees and asylum-seekers who have been transferred to Australia, like all refugees and asylum-seekers, should be provided with adequate support and a much-needed long term solution outside of Papua New Guinea and Nauru."

Angola, Senegal, Slovakia, Ukraine, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan and Spain were also elected to the body on Tuesday, while Nigeria and Qatar won second terms. Their terms start on January 1, 2018.

Ms Bishop said Australia would use its term to focus on "the empowerment of women, indigenous rights, strong domestic human rights institutions and the like".

"We'll also bring our views on the abolition of the death penalty and we'll also be focusing on some of the human rights crises around the world including in North Korea and Syria," she said.

To ensure geographical representation, states are nominated in five regional categories. Four slates were uncontested, while there were five candidates for four Asia Pacific seats in which Malaysia lost.

Council members cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. The council is able to rebuke governments it deems as violating human rights and to order investigations.

Human Rights Watch called for elections to be competitive.

"The Democratic Republic of Congo's election to the Human Rights Council is a slap in the face to the many victims of the Congolese government's grave abuses across the country," said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch.

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The violence in eastern and central Congo has displaced over 1.5 million in the past year and revived fears of civil war in a country where conflicts from 1996-2003 resulted in millions of deaths and spawned dozens of armed groups that prey on local populations and exploit natural resources.

with Reuters

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