"On October 11, the United Nations announced that Russia's attempt to regain a seat on the Human Rights Council had failed. This comes after Russia was ousted from the Council last year. During the elections held on Tuesday, Russia did not secure enough votes for reinstatement.
However, China and Cuba were successfully elected to the Council by the General Assembly through secret ballots, despite their controversial human rights records. Both countries, which currently hold seats set to expire this year, will begin another three-year term starting next year until the end of 2026.
The 47-member Geneva-based Council allocates its 15 rotating seats based on regional quotas. All 193 UN members participate in the voting process. Contested elections took place in the East European and Latin American and Caribbean groups, while the contests in the Asian and Western groups were mere formalities due to the number of contestants matching the vacancies.
Russia received the lowest number of votes, securing only 83, and lost to Bulgaria with 160 votes and Albania with 123 in the East European Group.
In the Latin American and Caribbean group, Cuba received 146 votes, Brazil 144, and Dominican Republic 137. Peru, with 108 votes, lost.
China secured a seat in the Asian group with 154 votes, along with Indonesia with 186 votes (the highest), Kuwait with 183, and Japan with 175.
Other uncontested elections saw the Netherlands and France elected for the Western Group, and Burundi, Ghana, Malawi, and Cote d'Ivoire for the African Group.
Russia was removed from the Council in April last year following its invasion of Ukraine, with 93 countries voting in favor of removal, 58 abstaining, and only 24 voting against. This year, Russia increased its support to 83 votes, just one more than those who abstained or voted against its removal.
Prior to the election, Russia's Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia defended its bid, claiming that the US's "main phobia" was Russia's election to the Council, and criticized the US during a Security Council meeting on Ukraine. The US Deputy Permanent Representative Robert Wood stated that Russia's election would be an "ugly stain" on the UN, while Albania's Permanent Representative Ferit Hoxa urged against voting for Moscow for the sake of credibility.
China's election faced no controversy, as it had unanimous support from the Asia Group. India, having completed a three-year term, was re-elected to the Council in 2021 but is ineligible for consecutive terms. Pakistan and Nepal, completing their terms this year, and Bangladesh ending in 2025, were unable to run for re-election due to Council rules regarding consecutive terms."
