As Human Rights Council Election Nears, NGOs Attempt to Shed Light on Candidate Pledges and Perspectives from the Developing World
1 May 2006; ReformTheUN.org

New York, 1 May 2006 -- On Tuesday 2 May 2006, a week before the elections for the UN's new Human Rights Council (9 May 2006), the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide will moderate a panel discussion entitled, The First Human Rights Council Election: Some Perspectives from the Developing World. The discussion will bring together a number of key NGO representatives from countries such as Nigeria, Argentina, Uzbekistan, and India, to highlight various perspectives on the upcoming elections. The discussion will be followed by a reception for candidates for the UN Human Rights Council, which will allow candidates to meet with NGO and Member State representatives to provide materials and information regarding their candidacies. UN Member States and NGOs are encouraged to attend both the panel and reception since the week preceding the election will provide an important opportunity for Member States and civil society to identify the strongest candidates. Click here for more information about the two events.

Candidacy Overview:

Currently, ballots for each regional block, apart from Africa, will be competitive with 13 candidacies from Africa for 13 seats; 18 candidacies from Asia for 13 seats, 13 candidacies from Eastern Europe for 6 seats, 11 candidacies from the Latin American and Caribbean states for 8 seats, and 9 candidacies from Western Europe for 7 seats.

61 of the 64 countries have submitted pledges outlining their various commitments to human rights, which include factors such as ratification of international human rights instruments, cooperation with treaty monitoring bodies in implementation and reporting, maintained financial support to the OHCHR, open invitations to the special procedures, etc. The candidates that have not yet submitted pledges are Iraq, Malaysia, and Honduras. Regarding pledges, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has prepared the following document: Suggested Elements for Voluntary Pledges and Commitments by Candidates for Election to the Human Rights Council.

Current Candidates:

Africa (13 seats/12 candidates): Algeria, Cameroon, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Zambia

Asia (13 seats/18 candidates): Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand

Eastern Europe (6 seats/13 candidates): Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Ukraine

Latin American/Caribbean States (8 seats/11 candidates): Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela

Western Europe/Other (7seats/9 candidates): Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Documents and Resources:

UN HRC Elections page

OHCHR recommendations for Voluntary Pledges

Secretariat's Briefing on Human Rights Council Election

Secretariat's Note on Human Rights Council Election

Amnesty International's Guide to UN Human Rights Council Candidates

List of Candidacies, 1 May 2006

Country pledges