Human Lives Human Rights: In the previous article, we analyzed the problem of political work or politicization in the United Nations Human Rights Council. In this article, we explore another challenge that affects the council: the security perspective on human rights issues. This perspective refers to the tendency of states to prioritize their sovereignty and survival over human rights obligations, especially when dealing with opponents or rival states. Many cases of human rights violations by states are related to this perspective, which undermines the universal and indivisible nature of human rights.
One of the clear examples of this problem is the issue of governments’ repression of their dissenters, which can be seen in the French people’s protests against the economic austerity policies or the Iranian people’s protests in 2009 and 2019 against the political and economic situation of their country.
Another example is the Kashmir dispute. The long-standing conflict between India and Pakistan over the strategic region of Kashmir has led both countries to take harsh and bloody measures against the people of this region to assert their sovereignty over Kashmir. The Human Rights Council has been unable to address this issue effectively due to its politicization and security perspective, which has resulted in the violation of the basic rights of the Kashmiri people.
A third example is the anti-human rights actions in Myanmar by the extremist Buddhist government ruling this country. Similar actions have been observed in the Bahraini government’s treatment of protesters since 2010.
Therefore, the security perspective and politicization, like two blades of a scissors, have tried to cut off the United Nations Human Rights Council from its goals and duties, which has prevented this legal council from fulfilling its mission.
