India re-elected to U.N. Human Rights Council

In News 

• Recently, India was re-elected to the U.N. Human Rights Council for the 6th term with an overwhelming majority in the General Assembly.

About

• The 76th UN General Assembly held elections for 18 new members of the U.N. Human Rights Council who will serve for a period of three years, starting in January 2022.
• India got 184 votes in the 193-member assembly, while the required majority was 97.
• India’s current term was set to end on December 31 2021. 
  • For election for the term 2022-2024, there were five vacant seats in the Asia-Pacific States category – India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

About UN  Human Rights Council

• It is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them. 
  • It replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
• It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year. 
• It was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006.
• It meets at the UN Office in Geneva.

• Membership
  • The Council is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly. 
  • The membership is based on equitable geographical distribution, and seats are distributed among regional groups 
    • Group of African States (13)
    •  Group of Asia-Pacific States (13)
    • Group of Eastern European States (6)
    • Group of Latin American and the Caribbean States 
    • Group of Western European and other States (7).

• Term: 
  • The members of the Council shall serve for a period of three years and shall not be eligible for immediate re-election after two consecutive terms.

• Funding:
  • Almost two-thirds of UN Human Rights income comes from voluntary contributions from the Member States and other donors. 
    • The remainder is covered by the UN regular budget.
  • The UN regular budget, approved by the General Assembly, is funded by “assessed contributions” from each Member State. 
  • These are determined according to a formula that takes into account the size and strength of their respective national economies.

Source: TH