Thread by @HumanistsInt

We submit the following questions to the candidates standing for election at the Human Rights Council as part of the online #HRCpledging event hosted by @amnesty & @ISHRglobal

Saudi Arabia (1/2): Many peaceful citizens, incl. #RaifBadawi #AshrafFayadh & #AhmadAlShamri, languish in prison for the ‘crime’ of exercising their basic human right to free expression. If elected, will KSR end its zero-tolerance policy towards dissent or criticism? #HRCpledging

Saudi Arabia (2/2): KSA has arbitrarily detained and persecuted many women for advocating reforms to the male guardianship system. Will KSA demonstrate a true commitment to human rights by pledging to release these activists & investigate allegations of their torture?#HRCpledging

Russia: If elected, will Russia accept the foundational principle of the universality of human rights, as set out in the UDHR, or will it continue to promote a subversive vision of human rights as subject to “traditional values” and exclusionary of LGBTI individuals? #HRCpledging

Malawi: Horrific acts of violence against women, children & older persons accused of witchcraft continue to occur in Malawi, and elsewhere. If elected, would Malawi be willing to lead a multilateral effort to address witchcraft related human rights abuses at the UN? #HRCpledging

Nepal: Nepal has pledged to pursue the sustainable development goal of “leaving no one behind”. Does Nepal agree that it needs to act more decisively to end the systematic discrimination and unlawful killings of Dalits as part of its human rights agenda? #HRCpledging

Mexico: Femicides have surged during COVID-19. Yet the president has minimized the problem, claiming that 90% of calls to shelters are fake & calling the feminist movement a right-wing plot. What structural changes does Mexico propose to tackle gender-based violence? #HRCpledging

China: China's pledge highlights its achievements in the field of economic and social rights. When will it be willing to constructively engage with independent UN experts who have recorded severe abuses of civil and political rights in Xinjiang, Hong Kong & Tibet? #HRCPledging

Pakistan (1/2): Pakistan has pledged to "preserve, promote and strengthen freedoms of the press, communication, assembly, expression or opinion, religion or belief..." and to "protect the rights of minorities and promote further interfaith harmony." #HRCpledging

Pakistan (2/2): Will it therefore abolish its blasphemy laws under Chapter XV of its Penal Code and under its Anti-Terrorism legislation, which damage interfaith harmony by legitimising mob violence and extrajudicial killings of minorities? #HRCpledging