Human Rights Council elections 2008
United Nations assembly during the opening of the second session of the Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland
© APGraphicsBank
On 21 May 2008 the United Nations General Assembly elected 15 countries to serve a three-year term on the Human Rights Council, in place of those Members whose terms will come to an end in June 2008.
The following countries were elected:
Among the elected countries, Argentina, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chile, and Slovakia are not currently Members of the Council. They will assume their seats in the Council on 19 June, in place of Guatemala, Mali, Peru, Romania, and Sri Lanka. All other countries elected will be serving as Council Members for a second consecutive term.
When casting their votes, UN Member States were expected to “take into account the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments made thereto”, as requested by UNGA Resolution 60/251. Accordingly, the international community trusted the 15 elected countries capable of “upholding the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” and of “fully cooperating with the Council”.
Those elected to the Council are now expected to fulfil the human rights pledges they made before the elections. Amnesty International has compiled an overview of pledges; the full text of the pledges can be found on the UN website.
Prior to the elections, Amnesty International issued a series of recommendations to all Member States, and published profiles of the candidates showing the organization's view of the situation of human rights in each country as well as its record of ratification of international human rights treaties and of cooperation with UN human rights mechanisms.
Click on the links below to view Amnesty International’s profiles of the candidates.
The following countries were elected:
- African Group: Burkina Faso (180 votes), Gabon (178), Ghana (181), Zambia (182)
- Asian Group: Bahrain (142), Japan (155), Pakistan (114), Republic of Korea (139)
- Eastern European Group: Slovakia (135), Ukraine (125)
- Latin American and Caribbean Group: Argentina (172), Brazil (175), Chile (176)
- Western and Others Group: France (123), United Kingdom (120)
Among the elected countries, Argentina, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chile, and Slovakia are not currently Members of the Council. They will assume their seats in the Council on 19 June, in place of Guatemala, Mali, Peru, Romania, and Sri Lanka. All other countries elected will be serving as Council Members for a second consecutive term.
When casting their votes, UN Member States were expected to “take into account the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments made thereto”, as requested by UNGA Resolution 60/251. Accordingly, the international community trusted the 15 elected countries capable of “upholding the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” and of “fully cooperating with the Council”.
Those elected to the Council are now expected to fulfil the human rights pledges they made before the elections. Amnesty International has compiled an overview of pledges; the full text of the pledges can be found on the UN website.
Prior to the elections, Amnesty International issued a series of recommendations to all Member States, and published profiles of the candidates showing the organization's view of the situation of human rights in each country as well as its record of ratification of international human rights treaties and of cooperation with UN human rights mechanisms.
Click on the links below to view Amnesty International’s profiles of the candidates.
| African States (4 vacant seats) | Asian States (4 vacant seats) | Eastern European States (2 vacant seats) | Western Europe and Other States (2 vacant seats) | Latin America and Caribbean States (3 vacant seats) |
| Burkina Faso | Bahrain | Serbia | France | Argentina |
| Gabon | Japan | Slovakia | Spain | Brazil |
| Ghana | Pakistan | Ukraine | UK | Chile |
| Zambia | South Korea | |||
| Sri Lanka | ||||
| Timor Leste |
Background
The Human Rights Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006 as the principal political human rights body of the UN. The Council is composed of 47 Member States, elected by the General Assembly in direct and individual elections and by secret ballot, based on equitable geographical distribution. To gain a seat, a candidate country must gain an absolute majority of the votes in the General Assembly, i.e. at least 97 votes.
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