UN General Assembly elects 15 new members to Human Rights Council

Source: The post is based on the article “UN General Assembly elects 15 new members to Human Rights Council” published in “UN” on 14th October 2023

What is the News?

The UN General Assembly has elected 15 new countries to serve on the Human Rights Council.

What is the United Nations Human Rights Council(UNHRC)?

United Nations Human Rights Council(UNHRC) is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system.

Created in: 2006 to replace the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Mandate: It is responsible for 1) strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and 2) addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them.

Members: It is composed of 47 member states elected by the United Nations General Assembly.

– The term of each seat is three years, and no member may occupy a seat for more than two consecutive terms.

– The seats are distributed along the following lines: a) 13 for the African Group b) 13 for the Asia-Pacific Group c) 6 for the Eastern European Group d) 8 for the Latin American and Caribbean Group e) 7 for the Western European and Others Group.

Universal Periodic Review (UPR): It is a unique mechanism within the UNHRC designed to assess and review the human rights records of all United Nations member states. 

Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.