“How did you expect Nigeria to get more than 3 votes with Chike Ibezim abducted, EndSARS protesters shot, Mohbad Procession tear-gassed, police brutality and violation of rights”
The UN General Assembly elected 15 new countries to serve on the Human Rights Council on Tuesday.
After the voting, Assembly President Dennis Francis announced Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and the Netherlands were elected to serve for three years, beginning January 1, is2024.
China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, and Malawi were re-elected for their second terms.
The Human Rights Council, the UN’s premier rights body, is tasked with the responsibility to uphold and advance fundamental freedoms globally. It was created in 2006 and consists of 47 member States, elected via secret ballot by the majority of General Assembly members.
In order to ensure equitable geographical distribution, its seats are distributed among regional groups of States as follows, from Africa (13); Asia-Pacific (13); Eastern European (6); Latin American and Caribbean (8); and Western European and others (7).
Malawi topped the voting for African nations, with 182 votes, followed by Côte d’Ivoire (181), Ghana (179), Burundi (168), and Nigeria (3).
Why was Nigeria snubbed with just 3 votes?
Political watchers say Nigeria’s global image is in tatters because of the outcome of the February 2023 Presidential election where Bola Tinubu, a man associated with drugs and certificate forgery was elected as President.
Nigeria got only 3 votes while each of the other African countries got over 160 votes to be members of the Human Rights Council.
A netizen and entrepreneur, U.C Maxwell @UkomahM asks ” How did you expect Nigeria to get more than 3 votes with Chike Ibezim in police custody after two court orders. Chude was abducted, EndSARS protesters were shot and killed, Mohbad Procession was marred by police brutality and violation of rights.
When Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is still behind bars after court verdicts, El-Zazaky is still locked up and many others. These are clear violations of human rights by the government. It was never possible”
Last month, Nigerian-born journalist, David Hundeyin, had alerted the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) to alleged attempts by the current Nigerian government to abduct him from Ghana, his country of residence.
In a video he posted online, Hundeyin stated that he spoke at the 54th session of the UNHCR in Geneva, about what he described as ongoing attempts to silence him and put an end to his work as a journalist using ‘illegal rendition and diplomatic meddling’.
The Human Rights Council is the UN’s premier rights body that is tasked with the responsibility to uphold and advance fundamental freedoms globally.
U.C Maxwell concludes “Fix your leadership and you will get every other thing right”
The new members will join Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Cameroon, Chile, Costa Rica, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Montenegro, Morocco, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Viet Nam on January 1, 2024.
