However, despite its poor rights record, the United Nations elected Saudi Arabia’s ambassador Faisal bin Hassan Trad to chair the UN Human Rights Council’s panel of “experts” this week.

Neuer explained that the decision to appoint Trad had actually been made in June, but remained unpublicized before his organization obtained official documents confirming it. He suggested that the appointment may have come down to a “backroom deal” after Riyadh made a bid to head the Council itself. Any government that chooses to imprison and flog a journalist like Raif Badawi – sentenced to 1000 lashes and almost 10 years in prison clearly has no truck with free speech. The kingdom has been consistently ranking among the “worst of the worst” with regard to political and civil rights situation and yet the Al Saud regime is re-appointed as the head of a key panel in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). ” The petition has racked up 5,214 signatures toward its 7,500 goal”.

According to Human Rights Watch there were 85 people executed up to the middle of May, compared to 88 in the whole of 2014. “Many received unfair trials before courts that failed to respect due process, including a special anti-terrorism court that handed down death sentences”, read Amnesty International’s latest annual report on the state of human rights in Saudi Arabia in 2014/15.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Saudi Arabia over its public beheadings and floggings, restrictions on freedom of expression and religion, as well as its systemic discrimination of women.

The HRC has long attracted controversy for granting membership to countries with dubious human rights records. He was lucky to avoid chemical castration or execution, both of which have previously been meted out to those convicted of offences related to homosexuality. Their actions in the current conflict in Yemen further exacerbate tribal tensions and act to undermine human rights.

The controversial selection, which seems to have stumped a lot of critics, has left the world to wonder if “oil trumps human rights” and has sparked the ire of human rights activists across the world.

UN Watch called US Ambassador to the UN Samatha Power and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to condemn the appointment and work to reverse it.