By The Insight Post Uganda
New York
The United Nations General Assembly, on Tuesday, announced countries that won seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), following the highly contested election.
Assembly President- Dennis Francis declared the 15 member States that will be entrusted with the responsibility to serve on the UNHRC for the upcoming three-year term, commencing on January 1, 2024.
The newly elected member States include Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Malawi from the Africa continent. From others continents are Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait and the Netherlands.
Notably, five nations namely China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, and Malawi, secured re-election to the Human Rights Council, demonstrating their commitment to upholding fundamental freedoms and human rights on the global stage.
The UNHRC, often regarded as the UN’s premier rights body, plays a pivotal role in safeguarding and promoting fundamental freedoms worldwide. Established in 2006, the council comprises 47 member States, each elected through a secret ballot by a majority of General Assembly members.
To ensure equitable geographical representation, these seats are distributed among regional groups of States, with allocations as follows: Africa (13), Asia-Pacific (13), Eastern European (6), Latin American and Caribbean (8), and Western European and Others (7).
In a detailed breakdown of the voting results, Malawi emerged as the top choice among African nations, receiving an impressive 182 votes. Côte d’Ivoire followed closely with 181 votes, while Ghana secured 179 votes. The election results for African countries also saw Burundi and Nigeria participate, although Nigeria garnered only three votes.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia demonstrated its popularity with an impressive 186 votes, with Kuwait securing 183 votes, Japan earning 175 votes, and China receiving 154 votes.
Eastern Europe witnessed Bulgaria’s successful election, with 160 votes, followed by Albania with 123 votes. Russia, seeking re-election after resigning from the body in April 2022, garnered 83 votes.
The Latin American and Caribbean region witnessed Cuba securing 146 votes, while Brazil earned 144 votes. The Dominican Republic secured its place on the Human Rights Council for the first time with 137 votes. Peru was also in the running, receiving 108 votes.
In the Western European and Others category, the Netherlands received 169 votes, while France secured 153 votes.
These 15 newly elected member States will join an existing roster of Council members, including Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Cameroon, Chile, Costa Rica, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Montenegro, Morocco, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Viet Nam, effective January 1, 2024.
The UN Human Rights Council is poised for an exciting term with these diverse and dedicated member States, each committed to advancing the cause of human rights on the international stage. Their collective efforts will play a pivotal role in upholding and advancing fundamental freedoms, as mandated by the United Nations.
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