‘A slap in the face to victims of abuse’: UN urged to reject Saudi Arabia’s bid to join Human Rights Council

Riyadh accused of killing hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, jailing women's rights advocates and murdering critics

Saudi Arabia is on the brink of being elected on to the United Nation's Human Rights Council, warn campaigners, in a move they say would undermine its ability to demand justice for rights violations and would feel like a slap in the face" to the many victims of the Saudi regime.

While the Saudi Arabian government has attempted to present itself as a reformed country that has made progress on gender equality and human rights, its record on both has been fiercely criticised by activists.