Brazil Reelected to the UN Human Rights Council

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil, which ran for re-election to one of the seats, was approved by 153 votes – far more than the number that the dispute required.

The Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights, Damares Alves, emphasized the achievement. “We had more votes than in 2016 when we were elected with 137,” she said.

The election, which took place in New York, in the United States, was contested. According to the minutes of the meeting released by the international body, there was a dispute for seats in Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region and Western Europe.

Venezuela’s request to occupy a seat on the council was also approved, although it is going through political, economic and social crises. The country received 105 votes and will take Cuba’s place at the table.

The newly elected representatives will take office on December 31st, and the mandate will last three years. But this is no guarantee of permanence on the board. Member countries meet every four months to assess their members’ respect for human rights and hold a vote.

If serious transgressions are reported, the member country may have its mandate prematurely terminated, and another country in the same region takes the chair.

Council

The Human Rights Council is made up of 47 countries, which meet annually in Geneva. The organization aims to promote and protect human rights on a global scale and has the power to launch investigations into allegations of abuse or disrespect for human dignity and basic rights.

In total, 193 countries are part of the UN. But the committee allows only around 25 percent to serve as members.

United States

American President Donald Trump decided in 2018 to leave the council. Supported by Israel, Nikki Haley, the then US government representative, called the body “hypocritical and selfish, which ridicules human rights”.

The decision came after demonstrations by the council on what it called the “humanitarian crisis” on the US border and criticism of the immigration policy adopted by Trump.

See the full list of member countries of the UN Human Rights Council:

African States

Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Libya, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Togo

Asia-Pacific

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Marshall Islands, South Korea, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar.

Eastern Europe

Armenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine

Latin America and the Caribbean

Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela

Western Europe and other states

Australia, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain

Source: Agência Brasil