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Fourteen new countries will be elected to the UN’s human rights scrutinising body next week, with France, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation set to get a seat. Based in Geneva, the Human Rights Council’s (HRC) role is to monitor and protect fundamental human rights and freedoms around the world. Also up for election are China, Saudi Arabia, who snubbed a seat on the Security Council last month, and the UN’s newest member, South Sudan. Maldives is seeking a second term. The island nation recently made headlines following a high profile case involving a child rape victim sentenced to 100 lashes for premarital sex, which was later overturned. The elections will take place in the General Assembly by secret ballot on 12 November. Each new member must get a majority of votes from the 193-member General Assembly. Those in the running are: African States (four vacancies): Algeria, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa and South Sudan ( to replace Angola, Libya, Mauritania and Uganda) Asia-Pacific States (four vacancies): China, Jordan, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam (to replace Malaysia, Qatar and Thailand. Maldives is going for a second term) Eastern European States (two vacancies): Russian Federation, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (to replace Poland and the Republic of Moldova) Latin American & Caribbean States (two vacancies): Cuba, Mexico (to replace Ecuador and Guatemala) Western European & other States (two vacancies): France, the United Kingdom (to replace Spain and Switzerland) The HRC holds public meetings three times a year to review the human rights performances of States and adopt new standards (usually in the form of resolutions). Importantly, it reviews each UN Member State’s compliance with human rights standards every four and half years. This is called the Universal Periodic Review. The HRC also appoints “Special Procedures”, who are independent experts — often called "special rapporteurs" — to report on specific human rights abuses or to examine the human rights situation in specific countries.
Co-incidentally, a host of special procedure positions are currently up for grabs and will be appointed in 2014. Click here for more. The new members terms will serve three year terms starting on 1 January 2014, and can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms (which means they can run for election again in the future). Click here for more, including a full list of current HRC members. “The unwillingness of candidates such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia to respect and support the important role played by civil society, non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders is deeply concerning” said Mr Lynch. “We are particularly outraged about a disturbing pattern of attacks, intimidation and violence against those who seek to cooperate with the UN human rights mechanisms, occurring in some candidate States as part of a worldwide trend,” said Mr Lynch. - See more at: http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37339/en/human-rights-ab... “The unwillingness of candidates such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia to respect and support the important role played by civil society, non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders is deeply concerning” said Mr Lynch. “We are particularly outraged about a disturbing pattern of attacks, intimidation and violence against those who seek to cooperate with the UN human rights mechanisms, occurring in some candidate States as part of a worldwide trend,” said Mr Lynch. - See more at: http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37339/en/human-rights-ab... Over 40 organisations have sent a joint letter to the General Assembly expressing their concern that countries known to abuse human rights and fail to respect the UN system are up for election. The letter, put foward by the International Service for Human Rights, makes specific reference to Russia, China and Saudi Arabia and says "the ability of the Council in protecting human rights is undermined if its memebers do not take the effective measures to address violations of human rights for which they are responsible." Campaign for transparency in the UN's top jobs As part of our campaign for transparency in the top jobs in children’s rights, we monitor UN appoints and elections, such as these to the Human Rights Council. Are they the best people for the job? Was the election process fair and transparent? Further Information: Sign up to receive our monthly Children’s Rights at the United Nations CRINmail.