India wins seat in UN Human Rights Commission

India on Friday won the seat to UN Human Rights Council after getting 188 votes in the Asia Pacific category. India has been appointed for a period of three years from 2019 to 2022. India reportedly got highest number of votes among all the other candidate nations.

India was vying for the seat in the Asia-Pacific category. Along with India, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Fiji and the Philippines also staked a claim in the same regional group.

"India's victory today at UN General Assembly during elections to human rights council is reflection of high standing that our country enjoys globally..We're grateful to the many many friends that we've across the globe who came out and voted in such large numbers to ensure that India got the highest number of votes among all the 18 candidates," said India's Ambassador to UN S Akbaruddin.

The new members will serve a term of three years beginning January 1, 2019. India had previously been elected to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council for the 2011-2014 and 2014-2017 terms. Its last tenure had ended on December 31, 2017 and in accordance with the rules, it was not eligible for immediate re-election since it had already served two consecutive terms.

On the basis of equitable geographical distribution, council seats are allocated to the five regional groups as follows: African States, 13 seats; Asia-Pacific States, 13 seats; Eastern European States, 6 seats; Latin American and Caribbean States, 8 seats; and Western European and other States, 7 seats.