Angola, Egypt, Mauritius, and South Africa are among the 14 new members of this UN body. Their mandate will take effect on January 1, 2026.

Other new members are India, Iraq, Pakistan, Vietnam, Estonia, Slovenia, Chile, Ecuador, the United Kingdom and Italy.

The members of the Council are elected directly and individually by the General Assembly, which renews one third of the seats each year.

These are distributed equally among the five regional groups of the United Nations: Africa (13), Asia-Pacific (13), Eastern Europe (6), Latin America and the Caribbean (8) and Western Europe and Others (7).

What is the UN Human Rights Council?

The Human Rights Council (HRC) is the principal intergovernmental body of the United Nations responsible for human rights. Established in 2006, it replaced the former Commission on Human Rights.

The general mandate of the HRC includes the examination of situations of human rights violations; the adoption of recommendations; the effective coordination and consideration of human rights throughout the United Nations system; and the promotion of human rights education and training.

The Council is responsible for mechanisms such as thematic or geographical special procedures (special rapporteurs and working groups), as well as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Specific fact sheets on these mechanisms are available.

How it works

The functioning of the HRC Page 1 of 3 United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights During elections, the general human rights situation in candidate States must in principle be taken into consideration.

On this occasion, candidate states are required to make voluntary commitments to respect human rights, which are made public.

If a Member State commits gross and systematic violations of human rights, the UN General Assembly may decide, by a two-thirds majority, to suspend its right to sit on the Council.