Saudi Arabia had a shameful start to 2016, executing 47 people in a day, after a year with one of the highest execution rates in its recent history. The death penalty is never the answer to crimes, and executing prisoners en masse further stains Saudi Arabia's troubling human rights record.
With its historic disregard for human rights and civil liberties, it's renowned abuse of domestic workers, oppression of women and religious minorities, it's well known support to terrorists and terrorisms, its failure to provide fair and transparent trials etc it is both surprising and very alarming that a country like Saudi even has a seat on the very influential United Nations body, the Human Rights Council. This was and is a mockery of justice.
It is alleged Britain conducted secret vote-trading deals with Saudi Arabia to ensure both states were elected to the UN human rights council (UNHRC), according to leaked diplomatic cables.The elevation of the Saudi kingdom to one of the UN's most influential bodies in 2013 prompted fresh international criticism of its human rights record.This should be further investigated. The classified exchanges suggest that the UK initiated the secret negotiations by asking Saudi Arabia for its support. Both countries were eventually elected to the UNHRC, which has 47 member states.Another cable revealed that Saudi Arabia transferred $100,000 for "expenditures resulting from the campaign to nominate the Kingdom for membership of the human rights council for the period 2014-2016". It was unclear where or how this money was spent.
(http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/29/uk-and-saudi-arabia-in-secret-deal-over-human-rights-council-place)
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations System inter-governmental body whose 47 member states are responsible for promoting and protecting human rightsaround the world.
"All victims of human rights abuses should be able to look to the Human Rights Council as a forum and a springboard for action." - Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, 2007 [10]
The General Assembly can suspend the rights and privileges of any Council member that it decides has persistently committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its term of membership.
The UN should remove Saudi Arabia from the Human Rights Council immediately, PERMANENTLY.
