Lahore, October 30: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed regret over Pakistan losing its bid to get re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council and called for urgent efforts to ensure that human rights are “not only observed in Pakistan but also seen to be observed”.

In a statement released to the media on Friday, the Commission said: “HRCP is quite unhappy that Pakistan has lost its bid to get re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council, as it received only 105 votes in the General Assembly of the United Nations. The other state failing in its re-election bid to the Human Rights Council was Lao People’s Republic, also receiving 105 votes.

“There were seven candidates for the five seats for the Asia Group. The United Arab Emirates, with 159 votes, and South Korea, with 137 votes, were re-elected. Mongolia topped the table with 172 votes. Kyrgyzstan polled 147 votes and the Philippines 113. The elected countries would serve on the 47-member Human Rights Council for a period of three years from January 1.

“Obviously, the vote reflects the Pakistani representative’s inability to convince the UN members of the country’s performance in the field of human rights. It should also be taken as a warning for the Pakistani authorities to redouble their efforts to make amends and ensure that human rights are not only observed in Pakistan but also seen to be observed.

“Much responsibility for ensuring human rights for the citizens has now devolved to the provinces and the creation of appropriate mechanism and allocation of adequate resources for human rights should be the top priority.”

Zohra Yusuf

Chairperson