Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has won re-election to hold that post for another four years. In fact, the Chinese government ranks high among the states targeting human rights defenders for engaging with U.N. human rights mechanisms. Chinese diplomats shrilly insist there are no human rights abuses in the country. His office has demonstrated its capacity to document Beijing’s human rights crimes; other U.N. human rights bodies regularly provide strong evidence of other abuses. Without such leadership the United Nations will become progressively less relevant on human rights – exactly the outcome several powerful states would like to see.