Human Rights Council Elections

In accordance with paragraph 7 of General Assembly resolution 60/251 the Council shall consist of 47 Member States, which shall be elected directly and individually by secret ballot by the majority of the members of the General Assembly.

The membership shall be based on equitable geographical distribution, and seats shall be distributed as follows among regional groups:

• Group of African States (13)
• Group of Asia-Pacific States (13)
• Group of Eastern European States (6)
• Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (8)
• Group of Western European and other States (7)

The members of the Council shall serve for a period of three years and shall not be eligible for immediate re-election after two consecutive terms.

With membership on the Council comes a responsibility to uphold high human rights standards, a criteria insisted on by States themselves when creating the Council.

Voluntary pledges that Member States have chosen to provide in support of their respective candidacies, in accordance with paragraph 8 of General Assembly resolution 60/251, are issued as General Assembly documents in all official languages.

On 10 October 2023, the 78th UN General Assembly held elections for 15 new Council members that will serve for a period of three years, starting in January 2024.

As of January 2024, 124 of the 193 UN member States will have served as a member of the HRC. This broad membership not only reflects the UN’s diversity, but it gives the Council legitimacy when speaking out on human rights violations in all countries.