‘Diplomatic victory’: Egyptian diplomat Wafaa Bassim elected to United Nations Human Rights Committee

CAIRO – 18 September 2020: Egyptian diplomat Wafaa Bassim has been elected to the UN Human Rights Committee to serve between 2021 and 2024, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday, calling it a “diplomatic victory”.

“The Egyptian diplomacy managed to achieve another victory for Egypt,” the ministry said, following Bassim’s victory in the elections that took place in New York on Thursday.

Bassim is among nine winners of new seats in the committee, out of fifteen candidates who represented different countries and regions, the ministry said, after intense competition during electoral race and inconclusive result that necessitated a second round of vote. The Egyptian candidate in the second round decisively won, the ministry added.

Ambassador Mohamed Idris, Egypt's permanent representative to the United Nations, explained that the victory of Bassim demonstrates once again the international community's respect for Egypt and appreciation of the distinguished potential of its cadres who are capable of contributing positively in promoting and preserving human rights at the international level.

Idris also praised the long diplomatic experience the Egyptian candidate enjoys, as she previously held many high-level diplomatic positions, including serving as the country’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, during which she assumed the task of representing Egypt in the Human Rights Council.

Idris also explained that the past days witnessed intensive efforts led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt's Permanent Mission in New York, and Egyptian embassies in various capitals to secure the necessary votes for the Egyptian candidate to achieve a new diplomatic victory for Egypt.