India set to be elected to UN Human Rights Council for three years


Team Udayavani, Oct 12, 2018, 3:27 PM IST

United Nations: India appears set to be elected to the United Nations’s top human rights body in the Asia-Pacific category for a period of three years. 

The 193-member UN General Assembly will elect new members on Friday to the UN Human Rights Council. The members are elected by absolute majority through a secret ballot. 

Countries need a minimum of 97 votes to get elected to the Council. India will be vying for the seat in the Asia Pacific category. Along with India, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Fiji and the Philippines will also stake a claim in the same regional group. Given that there are five nations vying for five seats in the Asia Pacific category, India’s election to the Council is all but certain. 

Ahead of the election, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin had tweeted that “Pitching together. Bahrain, Bangladesh, Fiji, India and the Philippines stake claim to 5 seats for Asia-Pacific region at Human Rights Council elections.”  The new members will serve a term of three years beginning January 1, 2019. 

India had previously been elected to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council for the 2011-2014 and 2014-2017 term. Its last tenure had ended on December 31, 2017 and in accordance with the rules, it was not eligible for immediate re-election since it had already served two consecutive terms. 

Created by the Assembly in March 2006 as the principal United Nations body dealing with human rights, the Human Rights Council comprises 47 elected Member States. 

On the basis of equitable geographical distribution, Council seats are allocated to the five regional groups as follows: African States, 13 seats; Asia Pacific States, 13 seats; Eastern European States, 6 seats; Latin American and Caribbean States, 8 seats; and Western European and other States, 7 seats. 

All five of the General Assembly’s regional groups submitted competition-free slates, meaning that all candidates, regardless of their rights records, are virtually assured seats on the council. Since 18 nations are vying for a total of 18 seats across five geographical groups, they are expected to be elected unopposed. Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Somalia and Togo are vying for five seats in the African States category, Bulgaria and Czech Republic for two seats in the Eastern European States group, Argentina, Bahamas and Uruguay for three seats in the Latin American and Caribbean States group and Austria, Denmark and Italy for three vacant seats in the Western European and other States category. 

On the eve of the elections, rights group Human Rights Watch said UN member countries should oppose the candidacies of the Philippines and Eritrea for the Human Rights Council because of their “egregious human rights records”.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Karkala: One-year-old leopard cub rescued from well in Nitte

Rishabh Pant becomes most expensive IPL buy at Rs 27 crore, Iyer fetches Rs 26.75 crore deal

JD(S) first family avoids discussion on Channapatna bypoll debacle

BJP, JD(S) leaders helped win Channapatna bypoll: DK Shivakumar

Virat Kohli doesn’t have anything to prove, his contribution is unparalleled: Kapil Dev

IPL auction: Arshdeep bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 18 crore, Rabada goes to GT for Rs 10.75 crore

‘King and The Prince’: Tons by young Jaiswal, veteran Kohli put India in winning position

Related Articles More

COP29: India rejects new USD 300 billion climate finance deal

Royal tour of India in offing for King Charles, Queen Camilla: Report

Indian-American leaders applaud PM Modi for inclusive growth in India

COP29: Civil society protests climate finance proposal, calls for ‘no deal’ over ‘bad deal’

Bomb disposal squad tackles ‘security incident’ at UK’s Gatwick Airport

MUST WATCH

Prakash Belawadi

Naxal Leader Vikram Gowda

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar

Rose Cultivation


Latest Additions

Karkala: One-year-old leopard cub rescued from well in Nitte

All-party meet: Govt seeks smooth Winter Session, Congress pushes for early debate on Adani issue

Container truck hits road divider on Mumbra bypass, disrupts traffic

National Consumer Helpline to roll out AI-based features, partners with 1,000 firms

Man attempting suicide saved after friend saw his Facebook livestream

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.