Topic 2: Creation of a Human Rights Council “Eligibility and Leadership Clause”
Background
The Human Rights Council (HRC) was created by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) under Resolution 60/251 in 2006 to promote the protection of human rights around the world. The committee primarily serves to preserve and uphold the fundamental rights accorded to all human beings that are enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a document drafted by the UNGA in 1948. In 2007, the Council passed an “institution-building package” to outline its procedures and functioning subsidiary bodies, the most notable of which is the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process under which the human rights records of all UN member-states are reviewed in an effort to address and minimize any violations.
The Council is made up of 47 Member-States that are elected by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) by a simple majority vote through a secret ballot. States serve three-year terms on the council, with one-third of the Members renewed by election every year, and are not eligible for immediate reelection after serving two consecutive terms.
Council membership is based on “equitable geographical distribution” according to a breakdown of five regional groups:
●Group of African States (13 seats)
●Group of Asia-Pacific States (13 seats)
●Group of Eastern European States (6 seats)
●Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (8 seats)
●Group of Western European and other States (7 seats)
The Council also has a Bureau which consists of a president and four vice presidents who represent each of the regional groups, serving for a year in accordance with the Council’s annual cycle (January – December).
As of the last election of the Human Rights Council on 16 October 2017, there are no official or enumerated standards or requirements that a country must meet in order to serve on or lead the council. Resolution 60/251 outlines the following, but does not establish any formal process for accountability:
●When electing members of the Council, Member States are to take into account the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights and their voluntary pledges and commitments made in this regard.
●Upon election, new members commit themselves to cooperating with the Council and to upholding the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights.
●Voluntary pledges that Member States have chosen to provide in support of their respective candidacies, in accordance with paragraph 8 of General Assembly resolution 60/251, are issued as General Assembly documents in all official languages.
●Members of the Council are reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism during their term of membership.
●Through this mechanism, the Council undertakes a periodic review of the fulfillment of the human rights obligations and commitments of all Member States of the United Nations. Ensuring universality of coverage and equal treatment of all States, the review is a cooperative mechanism, based on an interactive dialogue, with the full involvement of the country concerned and with consideration given to its capacity-building needs.
●The General Assembly has the right to suspend the rights of membership in the Council of any member that commits gross and systematic violations of human rights. This process of suspension requires a two-thirds majority vote by the General Assembly.
A press release by the UNGA on 16 October 2017 announced that Afghanistan, Angola, Australia, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, and Ukraine were elected to serve on the council, and that all will serve three-year terms beginning on 1 January 2018. The nations of Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Panama, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela will continue to serve on the council.
Current Situation
Ahead of the recent Council elections, UN Watch - a Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO) whose mandate is to monitor the performance of the United Nations - published a report evaluating the country candidates. Aiming to apply the membership criteria outlined in Resolution 60/251, the report focused on each candidate’s record of domestic human rights protection and its UN voting record.
Upon evaluation, UN Watch found 7 of the 16 candidates unqualified (Afghanistan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Qatar); 4 candidates “questionable” (Mexico, Nepal, Senegal and Ukraine); and only 5 candidates qualified (Australia, Chile, Peru, Slovakia and Spain) for Council seats.
The report noted the absence of competition in four out of the five regional slates and urged UN Member-States to utilize their legal right to refrain from voting for unqualified candidates, asserting: “Closed slates are most of the times the product of backroom deals fixing an equal number of candidates and available seats. The result deprives UN member states of the opportunity to exercise the responsibilities given to them by the 2006 UNGA resolution creating the Council.”
According to UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, the NGO is proposing two major reforms to the election system: either elections are abolished altogether and every State is granted membership, or elections are made public (as opposed to the secret ballot system).
In June, 47 countries represented by the Netherlands pledged in a statement to take measures to improve the membership of the discredited UN Human Rights Council. These measures included encouraging more competitive elections, engaging in voting based on human rights considerations, promoting universal participation by supporting smaller states in strengthening their engagement with the Council (noting that around 90 States have never held a seat on the HRC – including most Small Island Developing States), avoiding procedural tactics meant to block debate, and taking action to prevent and address acts of intimidation and reprisals with respect to candidacies and general engagement with the Council.
Despite the pledge, however, the UNGA elected six States that have poor records and fail to qualify according to the UN’s own basic membership criteria (Qatar, Pakistan, Congo, Afghanistan, Angola and Nigeria). Four other members (Mexico, Nepal, Senegal, and Ukraine) who were deemed “questionable” by UN Watch due to their problematic human rights or UN voting records were also elected. According to Director Neuer, “not one EU state said a word about hypocritical candidacies that only undermine the credibility and effectiveness of the UN human rights system.”
Discussion Questions
- What measures can be taken to ensure that Council members meet the criteria outlined in Resolution 60/251? How, if at all, should the election system be changed?
- What can/should be done to overcome the absence of competition within regional groups?
- How could changes in the election system change/improve the effectiveness of the Council in general? Alternatively, how could they hinder its progress?
References/Sources
UN Watch Report: ELECTING THE 2018-2020 MEMBERS OF THE U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
(pdf)
U.N. elects Qatar, Congo, Pakistan to top rights body, flouting U.S. warning
Joint Statement on Improving UNHRC Membership
General Assembly, by Secret Ballot, Elects 15 Member States to Serve Three-Year Terms on Human Rights Council
UNGA: Election of the Human Rights Council (16 October 2017)
UNGA: HRC Elections - FAQ
Resolution 60/251 (Establishing the HRC)