UN Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system.
The Council’s mandate is to promote “universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all” and “address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon.”
It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.
The Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006.
It replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
The UNHRC, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, has two key functions — the council passes non-binding resolutions on human rights issues through a periodic review of all 193 UN member states called the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), besides overseeing expert investigation of violations in specific countries (Special Procedures).

The Council is made of 47 Member States, which are elected by the majority of members of the General Assembly of the United Nations through direct and secret ballot.
The Council’s Membership is based on equitable geographical distribution.
Members of the Council serve for a period of three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.

The U.S. announced that it will seek re-election to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
This is the latest in a series of moves by the Biden administration to reverse a pattern of retreat from multilateralism that was characteristic of the Trump administration.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump had taken the U.S. out of the Council in 2018 saying it was biased against Israel and had members who were human rights abusers.

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