International
Venezuela fails in bid to renew UN rights council seat
AFP | Agnes Pedrero
China and Russia will lose a trusted ally in the UN Human Rights Council after Venezuela, which stands accused of serious violations, failed Tuesday to renew its seat.
“Great news that UN General Assembly rejected Venezuela’s re-election bid,” Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, tweeted after the vote.
Fourteen seats — nearly a third of the 47-member council — were up for grabs during Tuesday’s vote in New York, although there was only suspense around a small portion of them.
Rights council membership is divided between five regional groups, which typically pre-select the candidate countries for the three-year term ahead of the vote, leaving little room for competition.
There were however competitive races in two regions this year: Asia-Pacific, where there were six candidates for four seats, and Latin America and the Caribbean, where three candidates contested two seats.
In the latter group, Venezuela was running against Chile and Costa Rica.
‘Unfit for membership’
Human Rights Watch and other groups had urged nations not to vote for Venezuela, pointing to findings by UN investigators suggesting President Nicolas Maduro and other members of his government are behind crimes against humanity in the country.
“Venezuela’s vengeful assault on critics of the government makes the country unfit for membership in the UN’s top rights body,” Charbonneau said before the vote, warning that handing Caracas a seat “would undermine the UN’s credibility”.
When the count around the large UN General Assembly hall was done, Venezuela secured only 88 votes, falling short of the required 97-vote majority and far behind the 144 votes taken by Chile and 134 for Costa Rica.
The composition of the council matters, especially as swelling geopolitical tensions increasingly colour the debates and votes in the Geneva-based body.
Tuesday’s vote came on the heels of a historic council session marked by the first-ever attempts to push through resolutions targeting China and the situation inside Russia.
The council accepted the resolution brought by most EU countries calling for a special rapporteur to monitor the rights situation in Russia, amid concerns of domestic crackdown as Moscow’s war rages in neighbouring Ukraine.
But it narrowly rejected a more tepid text put forward by the United States merely asking for a debate on violations in Xinjiang.
The proposal came after a UN report cited possible crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the far-western Chinese region.
‘Consistent ally’
While this was a heavy defeat for Western nations, and appeared to signal a shifting power balance in the council, observers suggest a few changes in the body’s membership could allow the next resolution targeting China to pass.
New council members with a “more robust and principled approach” to human rights crises could “greatly increase” the chances of a future initiative on China succeeding, said Raphael Viana David of the International Service for Human Rights.
Venezuela was staunchly in the ‘no’ camp on both those votes, and is among the nations that repeatedly slam attempts to call out abuses by specific countries at the council as a “politicisation” of human rights.
“Venezuela has been a consistent ally of both China and Russia at the council,” ISHR’s Tess McEvoy told AFP.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
International
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump criticized a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that reinstated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, stressing that the immigration program was never intended to serve as a “de facto asylum system.”
On Thursday, Judge Trina Thompson extended protections for about 7,000 Nepalese immigrants, whose TPS was set to expire on August 5. The ruling also impacts roughly 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans, whose TPS protections were scheduled to end on September 8.
Immigrants covered by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the program’s termination was driven by “racial animus” and stripped them of protection from deportation.
DHS Deputy Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying the decision to end TPS was part of a mandate to “restore the integrity” of the immigration system and return the program to its original purpose.
“TPS was never conceived as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” McLaughlin emphasized.
She also criticized Judge Thompson, calling the ruling “another example” of judges “stirring up claims of racism to distract from the facts.”
McLaughlin added that DHS would appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS protections for approximately 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans, and at least half a million Haitians, among other immigrant groups.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
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