Human Rights Watch (HRW) today said countries with "disturbing" records were blocking key votes at the United Nations' human rights commission.
The US-based organisation said in a statement that in recent years "many highly abusive governments, which had faced censure by the commission on human rights, successfully fought to gain seats on the UN body as a way of fending off criticism."
"Countries with disturbing human rights records now command a significant bloc of votes," HRW said.
Among the "paragons of human rights virtue that now boast commission membership" were Algeria, Burundi, China, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Kenya, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Togo and Vietnam, the organisation noted.
"HRW sounded an urgent alarm at votes by the world's highest human rights body, which chose one by one to ignore severe human rights violations in several countries on its agenda, including Chechnya and Zimbabwe."
"This, combined with decreased outspokenness on the part of the West, particularly the European Union, has led to the current crisis," HRW said.
On Friday, the 53-member UN commission narrowly allowed Russia to escape condemnation for alleged rights abuses in the separatist republic of Chechnya. Russia justifies its military operations there in the name of the international fight against terrorism.
At its annual session in Geneva, African and Middle Eastern countries also successfully pushed through a "no-action" motion against Zimbabwe, after the EU sponsored a call to allow monitors into the southern African country.
This is the first year in the 53-year history of the UN Human Rights Commission that the United States has not been a member. AFP