General Assembly Elects 14 Member States to Human Rights Council, Appoints New Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services

The General Assembly today elected 14 States to the Human Rights Council, the United Nations body responsible for promoting and protecting all human rights around the globe.

By secret ballot, the Assembly elected Armenia, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Libya, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Namibia, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Sudan and Venezuela.  All 14 members will serve three-year terms beginning on 1 January 2020.

The newly elected States are replacing the following outgoing members:  China, Croatia, Cuba, Egypt, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Japan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia and the United Kingdom.  In accordance with Assembly resolution 60/251, those Member States were eligible for immediate re-election except delegations which had already served two consecutive terms — China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

The 14 new members were elected according to the following pattern:  4 seats for African States; 4 seats for Asia-Pacific States; 2 seats for Eastern European States; 2 seats for Latin American and Caribbean States; and 2 seats for Western European and other States.

Newly elected to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council were Armenia, Germany, Indonesia, Libya, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Namibia, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Sudan and Venezuela.

Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande (Nigeria) announced that the following States will also continue as members of the Council:  Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Eritrea, Fiji, India, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Senegal, Slovakia, Somalia, Spain, Togo, Ukraine and Uruguay.

Created by the General Assembly in March 2006 as the principal United Nations entity dealing with human rights, the Human Rights Council comprises 47 elected Member States.  On the basis of equitable geographical distribution, Council seats are allocated to the five regional groups as follows:  African States, 13 seats; Asia-Pacific States, 13 seats; Eastern European States, 6 seats; Latin American and Caribbean States, 8 seats; and Western European and other States, 7 seats.

In other business, the Assembly approved the Secretary-General’s appointment of Fatoumata Ndiaye (Senegal) as Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services for a five-year term beginning 25 October.

The General Assembly will reconvene at 10 a.m., on Tuesday, 22 October, to discuss the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.

Voting Results for General Elections