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Summary: On 10 December, the Human Rights Council elected Remigiusz A. Henczel of Poland as the new President.
The Human Rights Council this afternoon held an organizational meeting to elect a new President and four Vice-Presidents for 2013. Remigiusz A. Henczel of Poland was elected as President-elect. Cheikh Ahmed Ould Zahaf of Mauritania, Iruthisham Adam of the Maldives, Luis Gallegos Chiriboga of Ecuador, and Alexandre Fasel of Switzerland were elected as the Vice-Presidents-elect. Mr. Gallegos Chiriboga was also elected as Rapporteur. They will serve as members of the Bureau from 1 January to 31 December 2013. The outgoing President of the Council, Laura Dupuy Lasserre of Uruguay, said that unfortunately, the period during which she had been President of the Council had been marked by numerous serious and urgent situations which the Council had examined. The Council had to continue to look at the best way to deal with these crises and how to anticipate them. She underlined the importance of the Universal Periodic Review to understand the situation on the ground in all Member States; the role of technical assistance that the Office of the High Commissioner could provide to countries that had the political will to improve their human rights situation; and the importance of the participation of non-governmental organizations in the work of the Council. The incoming President, Mr. Henczel, said it was a great honour for him and for Poland to be elected as the President of the Human Rights Council. He deeply believed in a Council that promoted and protected human rights effectively and enabled cooperation among States, cultures and religions in a fair and equal manner. In discharging his duties, he would always be guided by these principles, paying heed – in the same way – to the views and concerns of all stakeholders. He sincerely hoped that together they would be able to make 2013 another successful year of the Council’s work, narrowing the gap between the human rights promise and the harsh reality still faced by many people all over the world. The Council also approved a proposal that the theme for the annual high-level panel with United Nations agencies on human rights mainstreaming to be held at the twenty-second session would be “Human rights and post-2015 development agenda with a particular focus on areas relating to the right to education.” The twenty-second session of the Council will be held from 25 February to 22 March 2013. Further Information