United Nations, Oct 10
The UN General Assembly elected 18 members to the 47-member Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term.
The 18 countries -- Benin, Bolivia, Colombia, Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Iceland, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Mexico, North Macedonia, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand -- were elected by a secret ballot on Wednesday, and they will serve three-year terms beginning on January 1, 2025, replacing members whose terms of office are set to expire on December 31, 2024.
All the outgoing members -- Argentina, Benin, Cameroon, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Montenegro, Paraguay, Qatar, Somalia, United Arab Emirates and the United States -- were eligible for immediate re-election except those members who have served two consecutive terms, including Argentina, Cameroon, Eritrea, India and Somalia, news agency reported.
Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Maldives, Morocco, Netherlands, Romania, South Africa, Sudan and Vietnam will continue to be members of the council.