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Perverse: Slave state sits on UN’s Human Rights Council

It appears there’s always a new low to be achieved by the UN. One may have thought that slavery would be a red line for the international organization. But apparently not.

On Thursday, Oct. 17, no less than the UN Human Rights Council elected to its leadership Mauritania, a country that nearly everyone agrees continues to practice slavery. Actual human bondage. Around 90,000 human beings, many of them children, according to Global Slavery Index, in forced labor. Others estimate the number to be closer to half a million people, or 10% of the country’s population. It was no less than the UN’s own special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Gulnara Shahinian, who provided this figure to CNN in 2012.

The Human Rights Council? Clearly, for the UN, those words are utterly meaningless. In addition to slavery — which was only criminalized in 2007! — other human rights abuses committed by the Mauritania include, according to a 2010 US State Dept. report:

  • Female genital mutilation
  • Child marriage
  • Arbitrary arrests

That the State Dept. also says Mauritania practices racial and ethnic discrimination almost seems like child’s play when compared to actual slavery, it’s just as important, as much of slavery is based on religious and ethnic discrimination inherent in the society.

Again, human rights council? This is beyond preposterous. It is disgusting. It is so disgusting it requires no long treatise, or explanation. All one needs to know is that a country where actual slavery exists sits on the UN Human Rights Council.

Forget about the UN no longer being fit for purpose. It is now actually promoting human rights abuses. Not convinced: Guess who else was elected today alongside Mauritania? Libya, Sudan and Venezuela.

When will the world wake up?




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