A Council of 47 members, five regional groups and the Universal Periodic Review

Background

The United Nations Human Rights Council is the main intergovernmental body that deals with human rights across the world. The General Assembly created it through resolution 60/251, which at the same time dissolved the older Commission on Human Rights. That commission had been set up as a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council and had 53 members. The Council has 47 seats shared among five regional groups: African and Asian states hold 13 each, Eastern European states 6, Latin American and Caribbean states 8, and Western European and other states 7. Members serve three years and cannot hold a seat for more than two terms in a row; the General Assembly elects them by secret ballot, and an absolute majority is required. If a member commits gross and systematic violations of human rights, the General Assembly can suspend it by a two-thirds vote of the members present. The Council sits at Geneva in Switzerland, meets for three or more sessions a year, and can hold a special session if one member asks for it with the support of a third of the membership. Every Council member and every United Nations member state has to undergo the Universal Periodic Review, which is run by a working group made up of the 47 Council members and chaired by the Council president, who holds that office for one year.