Anger as Saudi gets key UN rights post

The United Nations is coming under fire for handing Saudi Arabia a key human rights role even though the Kingdom has "arguably the worst record in the world" on freedoms for women, minorities and dissidents.

UN Watch, an independent campaigning NGO, has discovered that Faisal bin Hassan Trad (Saudi Arabia's ambassador at the UN in Geneva) has been elected as chair of a panel of independent experts on the UN Human Rights Council.

As head of a five-strong group of diplomats, the influential role would give Trad the power to select applicants from around the world for scores of expert roles in countries where the UN has a mandate on human rights. Such experts are often described as the 'crown jewels' of the HRC, according to UN Watch.