Kingdom chosen to chair Commission on Status of Women after unopposed bid, to dismay of human rights groups

Kingdom chosen to chair Commission on Status of Women after unopposed bid, to dismay of human rights groups

Saudi Arabia has been chosen as the chair of the UN commission that is supposed to promote gender equality and empower women around the world, after an unopposed bid for leadership condemned by human rights groups because of the kingdom’s “abysmal” record on women’s rights.

The Saudi ambassador to the UN, Abdulaziz Alwasil, was elected as chair of the Commission on the Status of Women(CSW), by “acclamation” on Wednesday, as there were no rival candidates and no dissent at the CSW’s annual meeting in New York.

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    6 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Bangladesh was expected to take over but late in the process, Saudi Arabia stepped in and lobbied for the chair, in what is widely seen as an attempt to burnish the kingdom’s image.

    Sherine Tadros, the head of the New York office of Amnesty International, pointed out that Saudi Arabia will be in the chair next year, on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing declaration, a landmark blueprint for advancing women’s rights globally.

    “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.

    Refusal to have sex with her husband, live in the marital home or travel with him without a “legitimate excuse” can also justify the withdrawal of financial support under the law.

    Amnesty International said a leaked draft of a forthcoming new penal code “fails to protect women and girls from all forms of gender-based violence”.

    Charbonneau said HRW tried to lobby other countries among the current 45 CSW members, which include states with much better records on women’s rights like the Netherlands, Japan, Portugal and Switzerland.

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