India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said the country’s win reflects the country’s standing in the international community.
India has been elected to the United Nations’ top human rights body, getting 188 votes in the Asia-Pacific category. India will start its three-year term on January 1, 2019.
This is the fifth time India is elected to the Geneva-based Council, the main body of the UN charged with promoting and monitoring human rights.
The 193-member UN General Assembly held elections here for new members to the UN Human Rights Council. The 18 new members were elected by absolute majority through a secret ballot.
The countries needed a minimum of 97 votes to get elected to the council.The country was contesting with other four nations, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Fiji, and Philippines, for the five vacancies in the assembly – this meant its selection was a certainty.
India’s election comes just a month after Michelle Bachelet, the newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, “The people of Kashmir have exactly the same rights to justice and dignity as people all over the world and we urge authorities to respect them.
In January India will join China and Nepal, besides Pakistan, which were elected to the 47-member Council in previous years to serve three-year terms.
India has previously won elections in 2007, 2011, and 2014 for three-year terms. As per protocol, countries can be elected for two consecutive terms.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
