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Home > International Law > United Nations Systems > Enforcement Mechanisms In The United Nations > Major United Nations Enforcement Bodies > Human Rights Council

Human Rights Council

Last updated December 2024

Please check the Human Rights Council website for updates.

The Human Rights Council is a UN Charter-based, subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly. It was founded in 2006 through the adoption of UN General Assembly Resolution 60/251 with the goal to promote and protect human rights around the world.

There are 47 Member States in the Human Rights Council which are elected by the UN General Assembly. The number of seats available is determined by the five UN geographical regions. To ensure proportional representation, there are 13 African states, 13 Asian states, 6 Eastern European states, 8 Latin American and Caribbean states, and 7 Western European and other states on the Council. One-third of the Council is up for election each year with the new term beginning on January 1. Council members serve three-year terms with the option for reelection as long as they have not already served two consecutive terms. States are expected to maintain high human rights standards while they are on the Council. If a Member State commits systemic violations of human rights, the General Assembly can terminate a State’s membership by a two-thirds vote.

Beyond Member States, there are other bodies involved in the work of the Human Rights Council. The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, composed of 18 experts from around the world, functions as a think tank for the Council. They provide research-based advice on thematic issues and suggest possible courses of action for the Council. Special Procedures is another UN Charter-based mechanism. As impartial mandate-holders, UN Special Procedures are experts working in either an individual or a working group capacity of five people who report annually to the Council on their country or thematic mandates. They undertake country visits, engage in advocacy, raise public awareness, act on individual cases of alleged violations, and conduct thematic or country research. The Council also accepts complaints of human rights violations brought by individuals or organizations. Two subcommittees are responsible for handling complaints. The Working Group on Communications assesses the admissibility and merit of the communications while the Working Group on Situations evaluates those communications deemed admissible for patterns of gross and reliably attested violations, which it presents to the Council with recommendations for action.

One of the primary responsibilities of the Human Rights Council is carrying out the Universal Periodic Review. Each UN Member State undergoes a peer review of its human rights record every 4.5 years. As a part of the process, the State reports on the actions it has taken to improve the human rights situations and receives recommendations from other UN Members States. Civil society and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) play an important role in the work of the Council. NGOs with ECOSOC consultative status have the opportunity to participate in Council sessions and all NHRIs and NGOs can contribute written submissions to support the Universal Periodic Review of Member States. For a list of upcoming deadlines for UPR submissions, go to the Advocates for Human Rights website.

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