Ireland has been elected to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council.
The body is an inter-governmental framework within the UN responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights.
The Council which meets in Geneva is made up of 47 Member States which are chosen by the UN General Assembly.
We were elected as a member with 124 votes along with the United States and Germany.
However Greece and Sweden were not elected from Western Group.
3-year term
Council membership is based on equitable geographical distribution with seats are distributed as follows:
- African States: 13 seats
- Asian States: 13 seats
- Latin American and Caribbean States: 8 seats
- Western European and other States: 7 seats
- Eastern European States: 6 seats
Members of the Council serve for a period of 3 years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving 2 consecutive terms.
It has published many important documents in relation to human rights with the most recent being a series of reports on the Syrian crisis.
