Fri January, 2021, Age: 3 years
The UN Human Rights Council will hold an unprecedented secret ballot to pick its president after China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia reportedly coordinated to orchestrate an alternative candidate to the widely expected appointment of Fiji’s ambassador, who has a noted record of speaking out on human rights. This political jockeying has meant that the council began the year with no president–a first in its fifteen-year history. Analysts have noted that concerns over an “active” president may have been exacerbated by the U.S.’s imminent return to the council this year, after it unexpectedly withdrew in 2018.
