Saudi Arabia has been selected to lead the UN commission aimed at advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment globally. This uncontested appointment of leadership has drawn criticism from human rights organizations due to the kingdom’s poor track record on women’s rights.
Saudi Arabia has been selected to lead the UN commission aimed at advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment globally. This uncontested appointment of leadership has drawn criticism from human rights organizations due to the kingdom’s poor track record on women’s rights.
Abdulaziz Alwasil, the Saudi ambassador to the UN, was chosen as the chair of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) by unanimous agreement during the CSW’s annual gathering in New York, as there were no competing candidates and no objections.
Alwasil received the endorsement from the Asia-Pacific states within the commission. When Antonio Manuel Lagdameo, the outgoing chair and the Filipino representative to the UN, inquired if any of the 45 members had objections, the chamber remained silent.
Typically, a country holds the chairmanship for two years, but the Philippines faced pressure from other members of the Asia-Pacific group to divide its term and transfer the position to another country after just one year. While Bangladesh was initially expected to take over, Saudi Arabia intervened late in the process and campaigned for the chairmanship, which many see as an effort to improve the kingdom’s public image.
Human rights organizations were quick to highlight the irony of the CSW being led by a nation where the disparity between men’s and women’s rights is so significant, even on paper.
Sherine Tadros, the head of Amnesty International’s New York office, emphasized that Saudi Arabia will assume the chairmanship next year, marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, a crucial framework for promoting women’s rights worldwide.
“Whoever is in the chair, which is now Saudi Arabia, is in a key position to influence the planning, the decisions, the taking stock, and looking ahead, in a critical year for the commission,” Tadros said. “Saudi Arabia is now at the helm, but Saudi Arabia’s own record on women’s rights is abysmal, and a far cry from the mandate of the commission.”
“Saudi Arabia’s election as chair of the UN Commission on the Status of Women shows shocking disregard for women’s rights everywhere,” Louis Charbonneau, UN director at the Human Rights Watch (HRW), said.
“A country that jails women simply because they advocate for their rights has no business being the face of the UN’s top forum for women’s rights and gender equality. Saudi authorities should demonstrate that this honor was not completely undeserved and immediately release all detained women’s rights defenders, end male guardianship and ensure women’s full rights to equality with men.”
The Guardian view on global women’s rights: Saudi Arabia isn’t the only problem
An editorial from the Guardian said that the rise of misogynistic, authoritarian leaders has set women back:
“But UN Women is clear that the broader issue of a “lacklustre” commitment to equality lies behind the slow pace of change. Too many governments seem to have forgotten the message from the Beijing conference: that women’s needs are not a nice optional extra, but a fundamental component of human rights. Reproductive and sexual rights and freedom of movement are frequently a matter of life and death.
The dissonance of letting Saudi Arabia take the CSW’s chair is obvious. But if other member states such as Japan, Spain and the Netherlands truly prioritise women’s rights they should not have stood by. Reportedly, western nations were concerned about creating a precedent for challenging candidates. That is not good enough. Women and men around the world continue to battle for the girls and women of today and the future, often at personal risk. It may be hard to channel the hope felt in 1995, but these campaigners must be supported.”
Source: Guardian