18 May 2007 - Child Rights at the Human Rights Council 29
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- ELECTIONS 2007: Fourteen new members to serve on the Council
- HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL SESSION 5: Information for NGOs
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Children Have Rights Too!
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ELECTIONS 2007: Fourteen new members to serve on the Council
[NEW YORK, 17 May 2007] - Fourteen countries were elected to serve on the United Nations Human Rights Council after two rounds of balloting among Member States on Wednesday at UN Headquarters in New York.
Elected to serve a three-year term beginning on 20 June, the new members are: Angola, Bolivia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Qatar, Slovenia and South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy.
Successful countries – which were elected according to a formula that allots seats among regional groups – needed to obtain an absolute majority of the General Assembly’s membership of 192 States. The second round of balloting was restricted to those States which had scored the most votes in the first round without achieving a majority.
In the African States group, Madagascar (182 votes), South Africa (175), Angola (172) and Egypt (168) exceeded the majority during the first round, while India (185), Indonesia (182), the Philippines (179) and Qatar (170) won the seats allotted to the Asian States group. In the Latin America and the Caribbean States group, where two seats were up for grabs, Nicaragua (174) and Bolivia (169) were elected.
Slovenia, which obtained 168 votes, was the only nation in the Eastern European States category to win a majority in the first round, but in the second round Bosnia and Herzegovina picked up 112 votes. Belarus did not score enough votes in either round.
Two seats were available to the Western European and Other States group, and the Netherlands won 121 votes in the opening round, while Denmark and Italy tied on 114 votes. In the second round, Italy scored 111 votes and Denmark obtained 86.
Some of the successful countries – South Africa, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Netherlands – were actually being elected to their second term after winning a seat during the inaugural elections of the Council last year, when the body was established to replace the discredited Commission on Human Rights.
As part of the Council’s formation, some members won three-year terms and others were given one-year terms and allowed to run for re-election again this year. Under Council rules, members serve three-year terms and cannot run for re-election after two consecutive terms. The newly elected members will serve three-year terms on the 47-member body.
Below is the new list of all 47 members of the Council:
African States (13 out of 47 seats)
Term expiring in 2008: Gabon - Ghana - Mali - Zambia
Term expiring in 2009: Cameroon - Djibouti - Mauritius - Nigeria - Senegal
Term expiring in 2010: Madagascar - South Africa - Angola - Egypt
Asian States (13 out of 47 seats)
Term expiring in 2008: Japan - Pakistan -Republic of Korea - Sri Lanka
Term expiring in 2009: Bangladesh - China - Jordan - Malaysia - Saudi Arabia
Term expiring in 2010: India - Indonesia - the Philippines - Qatar
Eastern European States (6 out of 47 seats)
Term expiring in 2008: Romania - Ukraine
Term expiring in 2009: Azerbaijan - Russian Federation
Term expiring in 2010: Slovenia - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Latin American & Caribbean States (8 out of 47 seats)
Term expiring in 2008: Brazil - Guatemala - Peru
Term expiring in 2009: Cuba - Mexico - Uruguay
Term expiring in 2010: Bolivia - Nicaragua
Western European and Other States (7 out of 47 seats)
Term expiring in 2008: France - United Kingdom
Term expiring in 2009: Canada - Germany - Switzerland
Term expiring in 2010: the Netherlands - Italy
Further information
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=13386
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HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL SESSION 5: Information for NGOs
The fifth session of the Human Rights Council will take place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 11 to 18 June 2007. Read the draft timetable here.
Guidelines for submitting written statements for NGOs
See information about previous sessions here.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12960&flag=event
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This update has been produced by CRIN, in collaboration with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Subgroup for the Human Rights Council. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.
Further information about the Human Rights Council is available on the CRIN website at: www.crin.org/chr. To submit information, contact [email protected]. CRIN, c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
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