N-VA wants objective criteria for UN nominations

Following the strongly-contested accession of Saudi Arabia to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the N-VA is pushing for a procedural amendment. “When a vote has to be held in future on the membership of states in UN Commissions, that vote must be based on the objective human rights criteria of the UN,” the party believes.

The support of EU countries such as Belgium for the appointment of Saudi Arabia to the UN Commission on the Status of Women led to a furious media frenzy. “We must take every measure possible to avoid such a scenario,” the N-VA emphasises.

Change in procedure

To this end, the N-VA is of the opinion that two things above all must change. “Firstly, future votes on nominations to UN bodies must be based on a set of objective criteria and specific, clear parameters. Because apart from Saudi Arabia there are other countries with seats at the UN Commission on the Status of Women that are unable to present a good record of respecting human rights. That new framework for votes must be outlined meticulously in consultation with the government and the parliament. And of course it also influences the tradition of the EU countries voting as a single block.”

“Secondly, we must adapt the internal procedure. From now on, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the government must be involved directly in sensitive votes,” the N-VA concludes.