Ukraine, Moldova and Germany elected to UN Human Rights Council
UN General Assembly chose 15 countries for three-year terms beginning 1 January 2027.
Last night the United Nations General Assembly elected 15 countries as new members of the UN Human Rights Council, each to serve a three-year term beginning 1 January 2027.
The vote was conducted by secret ballot and all 15 candidates ran without opposition within their regional groups. From the Eastern European group, Ukraine and Moldova won seats; from the Western European and Others Group, Germany and Ireland secured places. Six countries—Burundi, Ghana, Japan, Kuwait, Brazil and the Dominican Republic—were granted a consecutive three-year mandate.
Regional distribution and re-elected members
Seats were allocated by regional group as follows: from the African group — Burundi, Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia; from the Asia-Pacific group — Japan, Jordan, Kuwait and Nepal; from the Latin America and Caribbean group — Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay; and from the Western European and Others Group — Germany and Ireland.
The UN Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, is the principal intergovernmental body within the United Nations tasked with promoting and protecting human rights worldwide.
The Council has 47 member states in total, with roughly one third of its membership renewed each year to maintain continuity. To ensure geographic balance, seats are permanently distributed among five regional groups: Africa and Asia-Pacific have 13 seats each, Latin America and the Caribbean have eight, Western European and Others have seven, and Eastern European states hold six seats.
The newly elected members will join the Council at the start of 2027 and take part in its monitoring, investigation and policy work on human rights issues around the world.
Photo: press material from the event
