UN General Assembly elects 14 new members to Human Rights Council

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - UN General Assembly voted Tuesday to elect 14 countries to the 47-member Human Rights Council, including nations with poor rights records such as Sudan.

The 193-member assembly in New York elected Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Georgia, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Morocco, Romania, South Africa, Sudan, and Vietnam to serve for a period of three years at the Geneva based-council, starting in January 2023.

Venezuela and Afghanistan, the candidates with poor human rights records, were not elected.

"The General Assembly rightly closed the door on Venezuela’s attempt to remain on the UN Human Rights Council," said Louis Charbonneau, UN director for Human Rights Watch.

"UN investigators have found evidence that (Venezuela President Nikolas) Maduro and other officials may have been responsible for crimes against humanity against their own people. A government facing these kinds of allegations has no business sitting on the UN’s top rights body," Charbonneau said.

"Electing abusive governments like Vietnam to the council only undermines its credibility," he added.

Created in 2006, the 47-nation UN rights body is tasked with promoting and protecting human rights.

However, it has long faced criticism for having rights abusers as members.

Russia, a former member of the rights body, was suspended from the Human Rights Council after its invasion of Ukraine in February.

Decisions of the Human Rights Council are not legally binding but carry political weight.