Nigeria Excluded as Ghana, Malawi, and Others Join UN Human Rights Council
Nigeria’s hopes of joining the esteemed United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) were dashed when they managed to secure only three votes in the election held on Tuesday. The election resulted in four African countries earning seats on the council. Ghana and Burundi became new members with 179 and 168 votes respectively, while Malawi (182 votes) and Côte d’Ivoire (181 votes) were reelected for a second term.
The UNHRC is the primary body of the UN responsible for safeguarding and promoting fundamental freedoms worldwide. Established in 2006, it comprises 47 member states elected through a secret ballot by the majority of General Assembly members.
On Tuesday, 15 countries were elected to serve on the council for a three-year term starting from January 1, 2024. These countries include Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and the Netherlands.
They will join 32 other countries currently serving on the council, such as Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Cameroon, Chile, Costa Rica, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Montenegro, Morocco, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Vietnam.
Russia, which had previously resigned in protest against its suspension by the council, sought reelection. However, it was unsuccessful in securing a seat. Likewise, Peru did not manage to gain a seat on the council.
