14/10/2026
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14/10/2026
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The flag of the United Nations flies during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters on Sept 21. (AP)
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 14, (AP): Human rights groups sharply criticized Tuesday’s uncontested election of 15 members of the United Nations’ premier human rights body, saying it resulted in countries with poor rights records winning seats.
Positions on the 47-nation Human Rights Council are allocated to the UN’s regional groups to ensure geographical representation. And for the second year in a row, all regional groups put forward the exact number of candidates for available seats for the three-year term. This meant that in Tuesday’s election in the 193-member General Assembly there were no competitive races.
“This uncompetitive vote makes a mockery of the word ‘election,’” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch. “No one should have a seat on this crucial body handed to them on a silver platter.”
He called on UN member nations to “insist on competitive slates so they can reject candidates with poor human rights records.”
In Tuesday’s vote, the Africa group’s Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Burundi were elected. The Asia-Pacific group’s Kuwait, Nepal, Jordan and Japan won seats. So did the Latin America and Caribbean group’s Brazil, Dominican Republic and Uruguay. The mainly Western group’s Ireland and Germany and the Central and East European group’s Moldova and Ukraine will also join the Human Rights Council.
The Geneva-based council reviews the human rights records of all countries periodically, appoints independent investigators to report on issues such as torture and situations in countries such as North Korea, Iran and Myanmar, and sends fact-finding missions to investigate rights violations. These include in Ukraine, the Palestinian territories and Israel and Sudan — all currently engulfed in conflict.
