The UAE has elected for a second three-year term as member of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), starting from the beginning of 2016 and ending in late 2018.
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Georgia, which has never been elected in the Council before, is privileged to serve as a member of the United Nations body that represents a vital mechanism for enhancing human rights standards worldwide.
Geneva-based non-governmental human rights group UN Watch welcomed the defeat of Pakistan, terming it as a “major surprise”. A hundred and thirty-one states voted in favor of electing Venezuela as a member. The other vacant seat went to Slovenia.
All of its members are elected by the world body’s General Assembly, and it has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.
Burundi, Togo, Mongolia and Panama also gained their first seats in the UNHRC after this week’s election. It is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing human rights violations and make recommendations on them, according to MFA of Georgia.
There were seven candidates contesting for five Asia-Pacific seats on the Council, with minimum 97 votes required for election in the 193-member Assembly.
She added that UAE’s human rights records are reflected in the great progress made, particularly in areas of legislations to uphold and protect fundamental freedoms to citizens and residents alike, the national programmes for the welfare of women and children and advanced regulations on rights of foreign workforce.
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In accordance with Assembly resolution 60/251, those Member States were eligible for immediate re-election except the delegation which had served two consecutive terms, namely, the United States.
