India gets re-elected to UN Human Rights Council

In a significant victory, India has been re-elected to the UN's main human rights body for the period of 2015-17, receiving the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group.

India is currently a member of the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council and its first term is due to end on December 31, 2014.

After India's re-election, the country's Ambassador to the UN Asoke Mukerji emphasised that the country's focus will be to make the UN human rights system more effective and address issues through a constructive approach.

India was seeking re-election to the UN body, the elections for which were held here today in the UN General Assembly.

India was competing in the Asia-Pacific group in which four seats were up for election. The other countries competing in the group were Indonesia, Bangladesh, Qatar, Thailand, Kuwait, Cambodia, Philippines and Bahrain.

Out of them, India, Bangladesh, Qatar and Indonesia made it to the UNHRC.

India received 162 votes, the highest number in the Asia-Pacific group.

Apart from India, the other 14 member states elected to the Human Rights Council for a three-year term of office beginning January 1, 2015, are Albania, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, the Congo, El Salvador, Ghana, Indonesia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Paraguay, Portugal and Qatar.

After the results were announced in the UN General Assembly, Mukerji told PTI that India's focus is to ensure that the "idea behind creating the Human Rights Council is actually implemented in practice."

Mukerji emphasised that India wants to "build constructively and have space for dialogue" to find ways to redress issues of human rights.

He said a constructive approach will be more sustainable in addressing issues than engaging in a "polarised discourse".

Mukerji noted that playing an important role in the elections was the "impulse and dynamism" of the new Narendra Modi-led government which has focussed on the rights and obligations towards weaker sections of society.

"Those messages have reached to a vast number of people across the world. The position taken by the countries is an endorsement that the government of India is doing something to address issue of human rights and empower its citizens," Mukerji said.

India has had a winning streak in UN elections.

Mukerji said that through the election victories, India has consistently proved that in the UN family, its standing is a "high one".

Mukerji said the re-election win is a "useful indicator" to show that "what India stands for in the international community is not only a perception of India but is backed-up by a vast majority of the UN membership."

In this context, Mukerji underscored the importance and need for implementing the long-pending reform of the UN Security Council by the 70th anniversary of the world body next year.

The Council members are elected for a period of three years by the majority of members of the General Assembly through direct and secret ballot.

They have the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.

Last year, the General Assembly had elected 14 countries, including China, Saudi Arabia and Russia to serve on the Council.

According to the Council website, the General Assembly takes into account the candidate states' contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments in this regard.

While members of the Council serve for a period of three years, they are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.

The Council's membership is based on equitable geographical distribution, with 13 seats each for African and Asia-Pacific states, eight seats for Latin American and Caribbean states, seven for Western European and other states and six for Eastern European states.