The Human Rights Council in Geneva opened its 52nd session on February 27, 2023. The session comes amidst appalling violations of human rights in Saudi Arabia, with the use of sophisticated means to conceal the truth and whitewash its image.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the session by noting that unfortunately, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is being used for political gain or ignored particularly by some governments.
The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights indicates that Saudi Arabia systematically commits the violations that the UN Secretary-General mentioned. In addition to record numbers of executions, the continued use of torture in prisons has been documented and forced disappearances are systematically carried out.
Guterres called for the strengthening of the various mechanisms of the Human Rights Council. He emphasized the importance of courageous defenders of human rights who are at risk of persecution, detention, and even death while carrying out their work.
Human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia face numerous violations, and recently, Saudi Arabia has begun an aggressive policy against them, including hiding them in prisons and increasing sentences.
In his opening speech, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, pointed out that there is a need to ensure that human rights are not used as a weapon in the context of geopolitical changes, but as a solution to help alleviate the damage that is destroying our world.
Türk called on all member states and relevant actors to take the initiative in promoting all human rights around the world and in their own countries.
ESOHR notes that Saudi Arabia uses UN mechanisms to promote unrealistic reforms and changes, where it signs treaties without implementing them and publishes reports that include misleading information.
ESOHR considers that with the convening of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council, Saudi Arabia's efforts inside and outside UN mechanisms to conceal the truth have become more apparent, amid attempts to silence civil society and activists.