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Morocco Elected as 2024 Human Rights Council President

FILE PHOTO: The flag alley at the United Nations European headquarters is seen during the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, September 11, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The flag alley at the United Nations European headquarters is seen during the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, September 11, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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Morocco Elected as 2024 Human Rights Council President

FILE PHOTO: The flag alley at the United Nations European headquarters is seen during the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, September 11, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The flag alley at the United Nations European headquarters is seen during the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, September 11, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

Morocco won a vote on Wednesday to lead the United Nations Human Rights Council in a secret ballot in Geneva.

The Moroccan candidate, Ambassador Omar Zniber, received 30 votes, and his South African opponent, Ambassador Mxolisi Nkosi, secured 17.

It was Africa's turn to take the presidency of the UN's top rights body but African nations could not agree on a single candidate.

Zniber told the Council after being elected that he now had a duty to work to “meet the requirements of our common work" which are "so important and so fundamental: the promotion of, respect toward and guarantee of human rights as universally recognized.”

The foreign ministry in Rabat said Zniber's successful candidacy came "despite the mobilization of Algeria and South Africa to counter it".

The North African Kingdom said it "sees a strong signal sent by the international community in favor of its constructive approach, and its unifying leadership on key subjects such as inter-religious dialogue, tolerance and the fight against racial hatred, the right to a healthy and sustainable environment, migrants' rights and the impact of new technologies".

“Morocco’s election, for the first time in its history, to the presidency of this prestigious UN body, constitutes an acknowledgment by the international community of the far-sighted vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in protecting and promoting human rights,” added the ministry.

This choice, enshrined in the 2011 Constitution, results in a continuous momentum of reforms aimed, in particular, at consolidating democracy, gender equality, social and territorial justice, the effectiveness of human rights, inclusive participation, and youth empowerment, stressed the statement.

"The Kingdom's election, supported by a large number of countries around the globe in spite of Algeria's and South Africa's efforts to counter it, demonstrates the trust and the credibility inspired by Morocco's external actions."

“During its presidency, the Kingdom will remain faithful to the line it has set itself during its three mandates within the Human Rights Council, always favoring dialogue and consensus,” pointed out the statement.

Zniber is Morocco's permanent representative at the UN in Geneva and has previously served as the ambassador of Morocco to several European countries.

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The Arrest of Aws Salloum: What We Know About the ‘Azrael of Sednaya’

Photo of Salloum circulated on X
Photo of Salloum circulated on X
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The Arrest of Aws Salloum: What We Know About the ‘Azrael of Sednaya’

Photo of Salloum circulated on X
Photo of Salloum circulated on X

The name Aws Salloum, nicknamed the “Azrael of Sednaya,” has dominated social media over the past few hours. Syrian activists widely shared images of him in detention, alongside a resurfaced video of Syrian activist Mazen Hamada, who suffered torture in Syrian prisons and spoke of a jailer referred to as “Azrael.”

The “Radaa al-Adwan” (Deterrence Against Aggression) operations room announced the capture of the “Azrael of Sednaya,” accused of torturing and killing numerous prisoners. According to the announcement, Salloum was arrested during Thursday’s raids in Homs targeting remnants of the Assad regime.

Who Is Aws Salloum?

Syrian activists circulated videos showing a man arrested in Homs, identified as Aws Salloum. Salloum hails from the village of Al-Qabo in rural Homs, an area known for its loyalty to deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian revolution.

He joined the security forces of the Assad regime, where he gained notoriety for his brutality, as evidenced by survivor testimonies. He earned the nickname “Azrael of Sednaya” due to his heinous methods of torture and execution in Sednaya Prison, infamously referred to as the “human slaughterhouse.”

According to survivor accounts reported by the media, Salloum was responsible for the execution of over 500 detainees in gruesome ways, including crushing prisoners’ heads with concrete blocks. Former prisoners described Salloum as one of the most brutal jailers, employing extreme violence to maintain control and instill terror among inmates.

Activists also shared an old video of Syrian dissident Mazen Hamada recounting his experience with a jailer nicknamed “Azrael.”

In the video, Hamada said: “There was a man who called himself Azrael. He would come to us in the hospital at midnight, drunk. He would ask, ‘Who wants medicine?’ A young man from Daraya warned us, ‘Don’t raise your hands.’ When I asked why, he replied, ‘Do you want to die? If you raise your hand, you’ll be killed.’”

Hamada continued: “A man from Ghouta said, ‘I do.’ Azrael of Sednaya responded, ‘The Divine Court sentences you to death,’ and proceeded to beat him with a metal rod tipped with nails until he decapitated him.”

Mazen Hamada himself was later killed under torture in Syrian prisons. His body was discovered at a military hospital after al-Assad’s fall.

After the ousting of the Assad regime on December 8, opposition armed factions opened all prisons across the country, releasing detainees. This revealed the extent of the horrors committed in these facilities, with Sednaya Prison standing out as one of the most notorious sites of abuse. However, the fate of thousands of disappeared and detained individuals remains unknown, while mass graves continue to be unearthed across the country, bearing testimony to years of war crimes and atrocities.