Human Rights Council elections 2008
United Nations assembly during the opening of the second session of the Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland
© APGraphicsBank
The Human Rights Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006 as the principal human rights political body of the UN. The Council is composed of 47 elected Member States that must uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights.
Based on equitable geographical distribution, seats are allocated to the five regional groups as follows: African Group, 13 seats; Asian Group, 13 seats; Eastern European Group, 6 seats; Latin American and Caribbean Group, 8 seats; and Western and Others Group, 7 seats.
The terms of 15 members of the Human Rights Council come to an end in June 2008:
In casting their votes, Member States must satisfy themselves that the states they support have demonstrated a commitment to uphold human rights both internationally and nationally and to fully cooperate with the Council and its Special Procedures.
Nineteen countries are standing for elections to the Human Rights Council in May 2008. Amnesty International will, over the coming weeks, publish profiles of the candidates that show the organization's view of the situation of human rights in the country and 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.
Amnesty International has also made a series of recommendations to all Member States.
Candidate countries are encouraged to make voluntary human rights pledges. Amnesty International has compiled an overview ( – PDF, 12 pages, 47KB) of pledges received to date according to the guidelines by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the elements to include in election pledges.
The full text of the pledges can be found on the UN website.
Based on equitable geographical distribution, seats are allocated to the five regional groups as follows: African Group, 13 seats; Asian Group, 13 seats; Eastern European Group, 6 seats; Latin American and Caribbean Group, 8 seats; and Western and Others Group, 7 seats.
The terms of 15 members of the Human Rights Council come to an end in June 2008:
- African Group: Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Zambia
- Asian Group: Japan, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka
- Eastern European Group: Romania, Ukraine
- Latin American and Caribbean Group: Brazil, Guatemala, Peru
- Western and Others Group: France, UK
In casting their votes, Member States must satisfy themselves that the states they support have demonstrated a commitment to uphold human rights both internationally and nationally and to fully cooperate with the Council and its Special Procedures.
Nineteen countries are standing for elections to the Human Rights Council in May 2008. Amnesty International will, over the coming weeks, publish profiles of the candidates that show the organization's view of the situation of human rights in the country and 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 |
Amnesty International has also made a series of recommendations to all Member States.
Candidate countries are encouraged to make voluntary human rights pledges. Amnesty International has compiled an overview ( – PDF, 12 pages, 47KB) of pledges received to date according to the guidelines by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the elements to include in election pledges.
The full text of the pledges can be found on the UN website.
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