New UN Human Rights Council Elected
15 May 2006

On May 9, the UN General Assembly elected 47 members to the new Human Rights Council. (See below for a complete list.)

In a May 10 report, The New York Times reported on reactions to the Council elections.  According to the Times, some human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch (HRW), welcomed the results, saying that overall, “countries with poor human rights records…were scared away from running this year by new demands to demonstrate commitment to rights standards.” Kenneth Roth, HRW director, noted that “the pool of candidates for the council was significantly improved over the typical pool.” HRW, as quoted in a Reuters news release, noted “all the new council members are required to cooperate with U.N. human rights investigators, they will be scrutinized under the new universal review procedures, and they can be suspended for serious rights violations.”

The Times reports others were less optimistic about the results of the elections.  For instance, as Hillel Neuer of UN Watch was quoted as saying, “The council offers a membership with certain improvements, but the election of Cuba, Saudi Arabia, China and other egregious violators suggests that, come June 19 when the council opens, we're likely to see business as usual in Geneva.” In addition to Cuba, Saudi Arabia and China other elected members who have been criticized for having poor human rights are Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Russia, and Cameroon.

The new Human Rights Council was adopted in the General Assembly in March 2006 to address concerns about the integrity of the old Commission, which was criticized as ineffective. Unlike the past, all members elected to the Council must submit themselves to public human rights reviews, so abusers can no longer use their position on the council to shield their own practices from scrutiny.

The US, which voted against the new Council on the grounds that reforms were too weak, regarded the results as “an improvement over the commission.” On May 11, the state department issued a press release welcoming the defeat of Iran and Venezuela, but recognizing that some of the governments elected still do not have a “genuine commitment” to human rights. Like Neuer, the U.S. asserts that the Human Rights Council has yet to “pass the test,” and that it will have the chance to prove itself when if first meets this June.

African States:
Algeria (2007)
Cameroon (2009)
Djibouti (2009)
Gabon (2008)
Ghana (2008)
Mali (2008)*
Mauritius (2009)
Morocco (2007)*
Nigeria (2009)
Senegal (2009)
South Africa (2007)*
Tunisia (2007)
Zambia (2008)

Asian States: Bahrain (2007)
Bangladesh (2009)
China (2009)
India (2007)*
Indonesia (2007)
Japan (2008)
Jordan (2009)
Malaysia (2009)
Pakistan (2008)
Philippines (2007)*
Republic of Korea (2008)*
Saudi Arabia (2009)
Sri Lanka (2008)

Eastern European States:
Azerbaijan (2009)
Czech Republic (2007)*
Poland (2007)*
Romania (2008)
Russian Federation (2009)
Ukraine (2008)

Latin American & Caribbean States:
Argentina (2007)
Brazil (2008)
Cuba (2009)
Ecuador (2007)
Guatemala (2008)
Mexico (2009)*
Peru (2008)
Uruguay (2009)

Western European & Other States:
Canada (2009)
Finland (2007)
France (2008)
Germany (2009)
Netherlands (2007)
Switzerland (2009)
United Kingdom(2008)

* denotes Community of Democracy Convening Group Members

For more information on the Human Rights Council, please visit http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/ or http://www.un.org/ga/60/elect/hrc/.