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Do you know the member states of the UN Human Rights Council?

This article will talk about the countries that have participated in the UN Human Rights Council from the past until now.

The background of each country’s participation and withdrawal from the Council will also be introduced, to bring your political understanding to a greater level.

The current members of the UN Human Rights Council are 47 countries, including Japan, and this year’s president is Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji.

This article will provide you with more detailed information.

List of the Member States of the UN Human Rights Council

The UN Human Rights Council is an organization composed of 47 member states.

The member states of the UN Human Rights Council are elected by a majority of the members of the UN General Assembly through direct and secret ballots.

In addition, one-third of the member states of the UN Human Rights Council are subject to re-election.

The UN Human Rights Council takes into account the contributions of candidate countries to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments.

Equitable geographical distribution is also taken into consideration for the member states of the UN Human Rights Council.

Council member states are elected based on the following geographical distribution.

• African States: 13 seats
• Asia-Pacific States: 13 seats
• Latin American and Caribbean States: 8 seats
• Western Europe and other states: 7 seats
• Eastern European States: 6 seats

As of 2021, the UN Human Rights Council consists of the following member states.

• Burkina Faso
• Eritrea
• Somalia
• Bahrain
• Togo
• Bangladesh
• Cameroon
• Fiji
• India
• Philippines  
• Bulgaria
• Czech Republic
• Argentina
• Bahamas
• Uruguay  
• Austria
• Denmark
• Italy
• Namibia
• Sudan
• Mauritania
• Libya
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Korea
• Marshall Islands
• Armenia
• Poland
• Brazil
• Venezuela
• Germany
• Netherlands
• Cote d’Ivoire
• Gabon
• Malawi
• Senegal
• China
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Saudi Arabiaア
• Uzbekistan
• Russia
• Ukraine  
• Bolivia
• Cuba
• Mexico
• France
• England

Apart from the UN Human Rights Council, there is also the Human Rights Conference.

The Human Rights Conference is distinctive in that it has as many as 117 UN member states.

Reference : “Welcome to the Human Rights Council – OHCHR”

Past Presidents of the UN Human Rights Council

The successive presidents of the UN Human Rights Council are as follows.

Luis Alfonso de Alba	June 19, 2006 – June 18, 2007
Doru Romulus Costea	June 19, 2007 – June 18, 2008
Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi	June 19, 2008 – June 18, 2009
Alex Van Meeuwen	June 19, 2009 – June 18, 2010
Sihasak Phuangketkeow	June 19, 2010 – June 18, 2011
Laura Dupuy Lasserre	June 19, 2011 – December 31, 2012
Remigiusz Henczel	January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013
Baudelaire Ndong Ella	January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014
Joachim Rücker	January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015
Choi Kyong-lim	January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016
Joaquín Alexander Maza Martelli	January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017
Vojislav Šuc	January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018
Coly Seck	January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019
Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger	January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Nazahat Shameen Khan	January 15, 2021 – December31, 2021
Federico Villegas	1 January 2022 – present

Reference : “Welcome to the Human Rights Council – OHCHR”

UN Human Rights Council Job Description

The purpose of the UN Human Rights Council is to spread awareness of human rights to UN member states and to establish international law.

The UN Human Rights Council also serves as a review body.

The UN Human Rights Council conducts human rights reviews of UN member states on a regular basis.

In addition, the Council investigates and makes demands on the following human rights-related issues.

• Adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
• Appointment of a Special Rapporteur for Syria.
• Investigation of the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).
• Resolution condemning Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
• Discussion on the situation of racial discrimination in various parts of the world.

Reference : “Welcome to the Human Rights Council – OHCHR”

Actions of the UN Human Rights Council Member States

Member states of the UN Human Rights Council protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms and make recommendations to member states to that effect.

They also take a leading position in addressing situations of human rights violations, including large-scale and systematic violations.

Other than that, they discuss human rights issues through regular meetings and special meetings.

They organize working groups to discuss human rights issues.

Then, they discuss human rights issues by country and by type through the working groups.

What are the issues facing the UN Human Rights Council?

The UN Human Rights Council has the following three issues on its agenda.

• Assistance of the Israeli-Palestinian Issue
• Human Rights Issues in Saudi Arabia
• Source of Funds

Assistance of the Israeli-Palestinian Issue

The UN Human Rights Council has spent a lot of time on the Israel-Palestine issue which has become a major issue.
In fact, in 2021, it issued the following five reports.

• Ensuring Respect for International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law in the OPT and Israel
• Human Rights in the Occupied Syrian Golan
• Israeli Settlements in OPT and Occupied Syrian Golan
• Right of the Palestinian People to Self-determination

Boris Johnson of the UK said the following.

We share the view that a dedicated agenda item focused solely on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories is disproportionate and damaging to the cause of peace

Reference : “Britain condemns ‘anti-Israel bias’ at UN Human Rights Council – The Times of Israel”

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also stated the following:

disproportionate focus on violations by Israel. Not that Israel should be given a free pass. Absolutely not. But the Council should give the same attention to grave violations committed by other states as well

Reference : “Secretary-General Urges Human Rights Activists To ‘Fill Leadership Vacuum’, Hold World Leaders To Account, In Address To International Day Event – the United Nations”

Human Rights Issues in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has been elected to lead the UNHRC Advisory Committee.

In response, Hillel Neuer stated the following.

It is scandalous that the UN chose a country that has beheaded more people this year than ISIS to be head of a key human rights panel. Petro-dollars and politics have trumped human rights

Reference : “U.N. Watchdog Slams ‘Scandalous’ Choice of Saudi Arabia to Head Human Rights Panel – Newsweek”

This reflects the human rights issues within Saudi Arabia.

In Saudi Arabia, they executed a cleric who called for free elections.

Saudi Arabia was also a candidate for a member state on the UN Human Rights Council.

However, it was defeated by other countries and was not allowed to join the UN Human Rights Council.

Source of Funds

The UN Human Rights Council relies on the support of economic powers such as the United States of America for much of its funding.

This kind of funding can be problematic.

In fact, key positions in the UN Human Rights Council and UNHRC are occupied by important figures from major economic powers.

In this context, there are calls for fairness in operation and transparency of funds, especially from developing countries.

Reference : “Funding and Budget – OHCHR”

Why the US withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council

The U.S. did not seek a seat on the council when President Bush was in office.

The reason for this is that the UN Human Rights Council devotes much of its time to the issue on Israel.

However, the US did provide financial support to the UN Human Rights Council.

And the US completely withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council during the presidency of Donald Trump.

The UN Human Rights Council spends more time on the Israel issue than on North Korea and Syria.

The U.S. is also uncomfortable with the creation of an anti-Israel bias through the Israel issue.

However, President Joe Biden has decided to get involved with the UN Human Rights Council again.

Reference : “Election of the United States to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) – US department of STATE”

Resolution of the UN Human Rights Council

The UN Human Rights Council can suspend the membership of any Council member that has committed gross human rights violations by a two-thirds vote.

In addition, the UN Human Rights Council can hold a special session at the request of one-third of the Council members.

Reference : “Welcome to the Human Rights Council – OHCHR”

Difference between the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights

The difference between the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights lies in the number of member states.

The UN Human Rights Council has 47 members, including 13 from Asia, 13 from Africa, 8 from Latin America, 6 from Eastern Europe, and 7 from Western Europe.

The UN Commission on Human Rights, on the other hand, has 53 members, including 12 from Asia, 15 from Africa, 11 from Latin America, 5 from Eastern Europe, and 10 from Western Europe.

In addition, the method of electing the Council members is also different.

The UN Human Rights Council is voted on by a majority of the countries present.

The UN Commission on Human Rights, however, requires a majority of 47 countries to vote, regardless of whether they are present or not.

Reference : “Welcome to the Human Rights Council – OHCHR”

Understanding the UN Human Rights Councilう

It is important to have a greater understanding of human rights.

Moreover, there are many people in the world who are suffering from human rights issues.

The UN Human Rights Council is a means to help such people.

Therefore, in order to gain a greater understanding of human rights, it is important to understand the reports of the UN Human Rights Council.