Ambassador Khan RAISES FIJI’S PROfiLE IN SIGNIfiCANT ACHIEVEMENT AS UN RIGHTS BODY HEAD
Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan must be congratulated for her latest achievement. The Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations at Geneva has been elected to serve as the president of the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2021
A council statement said Ambassador Khan was elected through a secret ballot process through which all 47 members of the Geneva-based human rights body cast their vote to appoint its president for 2021 – the Council’s 15th annual cycle.
“Ambassador Khan, whose presidency takes immediate effect, joins Ambassadors Keva Lorraine Bain of the Bahamas, Ali Ibn Abi Talib Abdelrahman Mahmoud of the Sudan and Monique T.G. van Daalen of the Netherlands, who were elected on 16 December as Council vice-presidents, to serve on the Council Bureau for the current year. The election of the fourth vice-president, from the Eastern European Group, will take place following negotiations within the Group.”
Ambassador Khan defeated Yusuf Abdulkarim Bucheeri, Permanent Representative of Bahrain, and Ulugbek Lapasov, Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan. Per the rule of procedure, the candidate who received the largest number of votes and a majority of the members present is declared President of the Human Rights Council. The results of the secret ballot vote were as follows: Ambassador Khan - 29 votes; Ambassador Bucheeri - 14 votes; Ambassador Lapasov - 4 votes.
The emphatic victory demonstrates the high regard she is held in the international community and the recognition of our human rights record, plus Fiji’s contribution on other global issues like climate change and peacekeeping. It also shows that despite our small size we have punched well above our weight. There was a time when certain groups here had tried their best to project Fiji as a human rights abuser and violator to the council.
Our progress and development are testament that we have made significant achievements and the international community has acknowledged them through the ballot box. Many countries in the developed world are said to look at Fiji as a favourite because of its global contributions.
Activists had expressed concern over the human rights record of Bahrain and Uzbekistan prior to the vote and hail Fiji’s human rights record. They are also hailing the outcome saying it augers well for the future.
Phil Lynch, head of the International Service for Human Rights, tells the AFP news agency: “The comprehensive defeat of Bahrain and Uzbekistan demonstrates that there should be no place among the council’s president or vice presidents for representatives of states that restrict, criminalize and commit reprisals against rights defenders.”
Ambassador Khan has done Fiji proud. She is highly respected in the international community among her peers. She has carried out her responsibilities with dignity. And she deserves recognition for her work.