Eye on the UN notes the addition of 3 new members to the Human Rights Council. Angola, Egypt, and Qatar. They all pledged to ensure human rights. Right.
“The government’s human rights record remained poor and serious problems remained….Human rights abuses included: the abridgement of citizens’ right to elect officials at all levels; unlawful killings by police, military, and private security forces; torture, beatings, and harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; corruption and impunity; arbitrary arrest and detention; an inefficient and overburdened judicial system; lengthy pretrial detention; lack of due process; restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, including self-censorship, and assembly; forced evictions without compensation; and discrimination and domestic violence and abuse against women and children.”
Some of what Egypt neglected to mention in its pledge:
“…serious abuses continued in many areas…[including] limitations on the right of citizens to change their government; a state of emergency, in place almost continuously since 1967; torture and abuse of prisoners and detainees; poor conditions in prisons and detention centers; impunity; arbitrary arrest and detention, including prolonged pretrial detention; executive branch limits on an independent judiciary; denial of fair public trial and lack of due process; political prisoners and detainees; restrictions on civil liberties–freedoms of speech and press, including internet freedom; [including bloggers] assembly and association; some restrictions on religious freedom; corruption and lack of transparency; some restrictions on NGOs; and discrimination and violence against women, including female genital mutilation.”
Some of what Qatar neglected to mention in its pledge:
“Citizens lacked the right to change their government peacefully. There were judicially sanctioned corporal punishments. Civil liberties, such as the freedoms of speech (including the use of the Internet), press, assembly, and association continued to be restricted, and limitations existed on freedom of religion. There were also some restrictions on foreign travel, as well as arbitrary deportation, sometimes after detention for several years. Government corruption was perceived to be a problem along with lack of public access to government information. Trafficking in persons, primarily in the labor and domestic worker sectors, was a problem. Discrimination against women, both legally and culturally based, limited their full participation in society. Bidoons (Arabic for “without” meaning “without citizenship”; people with residency ties by not documented nationals) unresolved legal status resulted in discrimination against these noncitizens with residency ties. Worker rights were severely restricted, especially for expatriate laborers and domestic servants.”