UN General Assembly Elects 15 New Members To Human Rights

With Peru and Russia failing to win a seat, the UN General Assembly elected 15 new nations to the Human Rights Council on Tuesday.

Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and the Netherlands were chosen to serve three-year terms beginning on January 1, 2024, according to Assembly President Dennis Francis, who revealed the results after the votes had been cast and tallied.

Second terms were won by China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, and Malawi.

Globally promoting and defending fundamental freedoms falls under the purview of the Human Rights Council, the UN’s top human rights body.

It was established in 2006, and the majority of the General Assembly’s members chose its 47 member states in a secret vote.

Its seats are allocated among regional groups of states as follows: from Africa (13); Asia-Pacific (13); Eastern European (6); Latin American and Caribbean (8); and Western European and others (7). This is done to maintain a fair geographical distribution.

With 182 votes, Malawi received the most votes among African countries, followed by Côte d’Ivoire (181), Ghana (179), Burundi (168), and Nigeria (3). Indonesia received 186 votes in Asia and the Pacific, followed by Kuwait (183), Japan (175), and China (154).

Bulgaria won 160 votes in Eastern Europe, followed by Albania (123), and Russia (83). Following its resignation from the organization on April 7, 2022, Russia was running for re-election to the Human Rights Council.

Cuba received 146 votes in Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by Brazil (144), the Dominican Republic (137), and Peru (108). The Dominican Republic has never before been elected to the Human Rights Council.

The Netherlands and France each received 169 votes in Western Europe and other regions.

On Jan. 1, 2024, the new members will join the following countries: 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 Vietnam.