India Re-Elected To UNHRC With 'Overwhelming Majority', Commits To 'Global Advancement' Of Human Rights

A total of 18 seats were up for election this year under the system of rotating membership with three-year terms on the 47-member Council, IANS reported.

Photo: Twitter/@IndiaUNNewYork

United Nations: With a pledge to “to bring its pluralistic, moderate and balanced perspective to straddle various divides or differences in the Council”, India was on Thursday re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for another three-year term starting in 2022.

The country received 184 of the 193 votes cast in the election.

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A total of 18 seats were up for election this year under the system of rotating membership with three-year terms on the 47-member Council, IANS reported.

Elected in 2018 to the current term that began in 2019, India will not be able to seek re-election in 2024 after its election this time because the rules do not allow a nation to serve more than two consecutive terms.

“The promotion and protection of human rights is essential to achieving the goal of socio-economic advancement of humanity in its entirety,” India said in its manifesto for re-election, IANS reported.

The manifesto spoke about buttressing human rights through action in the socio-economic arenas like building back better from the coronavirus pandemic.

Ensuring the unopposed election of India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for the five seats for the region that were up for election this year, the Asia group of nations unanimously endorsed the five countries.

Two spoiler votes were, however, cast for Fiji and the Maldives despite the unanimity.

The other regional ballots were five for Africa, three each for the two groups, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the western and other countries, and two for Eastern Europe.

The United States, which rejoined the UN Human Rights Council this year after President Joe Biden assumed office, was elected.

The United States, however, was elected with only 168 votes, the lowest number of votes of the 18 nations.

Bangladesh, which is set to complete two consecutive terms at the end of 2021, was not eligible for re-election.

The terms of China, Pakistan and Nepal, currently on the Council, run till 2023.