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Human Rights Council

The UN General Assembly, through the adoption of the resolution 60/251, established the Human Rights Council in April 2006.

The 47-member Council held its first session in Geneva in June 2006. For more details on the Human Rights Council, visit http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/

The Council replaced the UN Human Rights Commission. The creation of the Council as a standing body of the General Assembly reflects the growing importance given to human rights alongside development and security, as one of the three pillars of the United Nations. 13 Commonwealth countries were elected to the Human Rights Council by the General Assembly.

Commonwealth Countries in the Human Rights Council  

Bangladesh	3 years	2009
Cameroon	3 years	2009
Canada	3 years	2009
Ghana	2 years	2008
India	1 year	2007
Malaysia	3 years	2009
Mauritius	3 years	2009
Nigeria	3 years	2009
Pakistan	2 years	2008
South Africa	1 year	2007
Sri Lanka	2 years	2008
United Kingdom	2 years	2008
Zambia	2 years	2008

Commonwealth Secretary General’s Message on the Establishment of the Human Rights Council

“I welcome the historic decision by the United Nations General Assembly to establish a Human Rights Council. Commonwealth Heads of Government discussed the proposed Human Rights Council in November last year and our 53-member association declared its backing for the creation of the Council and its commitment to achieve that goal.

The adoption of the UN resolution establishing the Council by an overwhelming majority testifies to the strong commitment and resolve of the international community to the advancement of fundamental human rights and freedoms for all.

The new Council's success will be judged by the extent to which it achieves more, in terms of both quantity and quality, in tackling global human rights priorities than the Commission which it replaces.

As the principal world body now entrusted with the promotion and protection of human rights, the Human Rights Council must be given the necessary resources and support to carry out its mandate fully and effectively. I hope that a genuine spirit of co-operation and dialogue - based on the fundamental principles of universality, objectivity and non-selectivity - will guide the work of the Council.

The establishment of the Human Rights Council consolidates the mutually reinforcing and interlinked roles of human rights, international peace and security, and development. For the Council to achieve its full potential, it needs to be strong and principled and to operate with integrity, strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights at every level and for every individual. We will watch the Council's progress with great interest and keenly await its opening session on 19 June 2006.

Safeguarding human rights for all its citizens remains one of the guiding principles of the Commonwealth. We still have more work to do ourselves and are committed to raising human rights standards in all of our 53 member countries. We are working in particular to promote pro-human rights activities at the community level and to secure ratification of UN human rights conventions at the national level.

The Commonwealth reaffirms its commitment to work closely with the Human Rights Council in furthering our common goal for the advancement of human rights around the world”.