Saudi Arabia failed in its attempt to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the next three-year term starting on January 1, while China, Russia and Cuba were elected on Tuesday in a vote that caused an outcry among human rights defenders.

Russia and Cuba ran unopposed in the UN General Assembly election. Saudi Arabia and China vied for membership in a five-nation race for four spots with Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Nepal.

Pakistan received 169 votes, Uzbekistan 164, Nepal 150, China 139 and Saudi Arabia 90 votes – ending Riyadh’s bid to again be a member of the UN’s top human rights body.

Fifteen countries were elected to the 47-nation council on Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch has described China and Saudi Arabia as “two of the world’s most abusive governments“. The New York-based group also singled out numerous war crimes in the Syrian war as making Russia a highly problematic candidate.

Experts say with a number of countries with questionable rights records being elected, the current system of entry to UNHRC is in serious need of reform.

Kevin Jon Heller, professor of international law at the University of Copenhagen, said: “Of course it is regrettable that countries with such terrible human rights records can be elected to the council. But that is the nature of the UN’s messy bureaucracy.

“There is simply no way to avoid the kinds of backroom deals that result in outcomes like this. There is simply no evidence that countries take human rights records into account when they vote.”

Tuesday’s vote indicated how damaged Saudi Arabia’s international reputation has become in recent years.

Critics have long denounced Riyadh’s human rights record. In recent years, authorities have rounded up hundreds of perceived political opponents, detained more than a dozen women’s rights activists, and continued mass prisoner executions. Public protests, political parties and labour unions are banned in the kingdom.

Agnes Callamard, the UN’s special rapporteur for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, investigated the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Turkey in 2018. She has stated “credible evidence” links Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the killing and said he should be investigated.