General Assembly elects 14 countries to serve on UN Human Rights Council

Fourteen countries were elected to serve on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) for three-year terms starting next month after one round of balloting today among Member States at UN Headquarters in New York.

Angola, Libya, Mauritania and Uganda were chosen to fill the four vacant African seats on the 47-member panel, according to a formula that allots seats among regions.

The two seats up for grabs in the Latin American and Caribbean region – successful candidates in each category must obtain an absolute majority of valid votes cast by the 192 General Assembly members – went to Ecuador and Guatemala.

In the Eastern European category, the two available seats went to Poland and the Republic of Moldova; in Western Europe, to Spain and Switzerland.

Four countries contested the positions distributed to Asian States, with Malaysia, Maldives, Qatar and Thailand winning the most votes to join the panel.

The results were announced by the current President of the General Assembly, Ali Treki.

Under the Geneva-based Council’s rules, members serve for three-year periods and cannot run for immediate re-election after two consecutive terms.

Overall, the 47 members include 13 from Africa, 13 from Asia, six from Eastern Europe, eight from Latin America and the Caribbean, and seven from Western Europe and Other States.