#HRCelections2025: ask your questions to the States running for a seat at the Human Rights Council!

14 countries are running for a seat at the Human Rights Council. All of them need to improve their human rights record. Join the HRC elections 2025 campaign!

For many victims and activists, the Human Rights Council is a critical arena to confront abuses of power and push for change in their countries. Its success depends on members and their commitment to promote and protect human rights at home and abroad. Every year in October, the 193 Member States of the UN elect new members to the Human Rights Council. In 2025, 14 candidates are running for 14 seats. The process is therefore not competitive and can hardly be called an election.

Who is running for a seat this year?

So far, those are the candidate States running [please be aware that the list of candidates might evolve and will be updated as new information comes in]:

African States: Mauritius, Tunisia, South Africa and Egypt (4 candidates for 4 seats: closed slate)
Asia and the Pacific States: Pakistan, Iraq, Vietnam and India (4 candidates for 4 seats: closed slate)
Latin America and Caribbean States: Chile and Argentina (2 candidates for 2 seats: closed slate)
Western Europe and other States: Italy and the UK (2 candidates for 2 seats: closed slate)
Central and Eastern Europe States: Slovenia and Estonia (2 candidates for 2 seats: closed slate)

None of these candidates has a perfect human rights record: they all need to do better.

What do we want?

We want all candidates to make voluntary pledges in which they commit to improve their human rights issues at home and abroad and their collaboration with the Council.

We also want UN member States to make informed votes and vote only for State candidates that uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights and fully cooperate with the UN.

We urge all UN regional groups of member States to present more candidacies than the available seats to ensure competitive HRC elections.

How do we achieve this?

We increase the transparency of the election. ISHR publishes scorecards that give a brief overview of the candidate’s record of cooperation and engagement with UN mechanisms. These scorecards help UN member States cast informed votes.

We create spaces where civil society and States can engage with candidates about their records and candidacies. On 4 September 2025 ISHR and Amnesty International will organise an online pledging event where civil society can directly and constructively engage with candidate States by asking them questions. Candidates will also be able to elaborate on their human rights pledges and commitments made in the context of their candidacies.

We engage with States through meetings, letters and calls and ask them to base their vote on the HRC membership criteria and vote only for State candidates that uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights and fully cooperate with the UN.

What can you do?

Participate to the online Pledging Event

In advance of the Human Rights Council elections Amnesty International and ISHR will hold an online pledging event for candidate States on 4 September 2025. This event will provide Council candidates the opportunity to present their vision for membership and the priorities they will work on if elected. State representatives and civil society are invited to participate actively in the event and pose questions to candidate States on their human rights records and pledges. To attend this online event, please register.

Submit a question to candidate States

You have a question to one of the candidate State? You can already submit questions you may have to candidate States prior to the event.

Submit a question

The elections at a glance

The what, when and how of the 2025 elections!

What is the Human Rights Council?

The Human Rights Council is the main UN body in charge of human rights. At the Human Rights Council, States demonstrate to their peers that they are committed to protecting human rights. Together they discuss and tackle some of the worst human rights crises in the world and, where necessary, hold rights violators to account.

The Council consists of 47 states who represent the five “UN regions”: African States (13 seats), Asia-Pacific States (13 seats), Latin American and Caribbean States (8 seats), Western European and other States (7 seats) and Eastern European States (6 seats).

If you want to know more about the Human Rights Council please check out this video:

How does the election work?

Roughly a third of the members change each year. Elections take place every October in New York.

The members are elected by the 193 states in the General Assembly. Candidates are expected to put forward voluntary pledges and commitments on what they will achieve as members. This should inform the decision of other States to support them in the elections.

Countries are not obliged to vote for all of the candidates. They can still not vote for a candidate country (even in a closed slate). They should vote with reflection, not in haste or in exchange for favours or political influence. They should only vote for the most committed candidates.

The countries elected will serve three-year terms beginning on 1 January 2026.

Who are the candidates to the 2025 Human Rights Council elections?

This year the candidate States are:

- African States: Mauritius, Tanzania, South Africa and Egypt (4 candidates for 4 seats: closed slate)
- Asia and the Pacific States: Pakistan, Iraq, Vietnam and India (4 candidates for 4 seats: closed slate)
- Latin America and Caribbean States: Chile and Argentina (2 candidates for 2 seats: closed slate)
- Western Europe and other States: Italy and the UK (2 candidates for 2 seats: closed slate)
- Central and Eastern Europe States: Slovenia and Estonia (2 candidates for 2 seats: closed slate)

Candidates must be member states of the UN. Through membership of the Council, they commit themselves to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights,” and to fully cooperate with the Council and its mechanisms.

None of the candidate countries has a perfect human rights record: all need to do better and can do so by working with civil society, including by developing time-bound pledges and commitments on what they propose to achieve.

ISHR will published ‘scorecards’ for States seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for 2026-2028 to help inform voting States’ decisions in the upcoming election. The scorecards offer a quick ‘at-a-glance’ objective comparison of the human rights record of each candidate through criteria such as focusing on their cooperation with human rights bodies such as the Council, their support for civil society, their engagement with UN Treaty Bodies and Special Procedures, among others.

What does ISHR want?

We want all candidates to commit to improve their human rights records and UN member states to vote only for the candidates that uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights and fully cooperate with the UN.

We want elections to be more competitive.

Despite our joint call for competitive elections, no slate is open this year. It means that in all regional groups, the number of candidate States is equal to the number of available seats. All candidates will ultimately get elected.

This again demonstrate the importance of having competitive slates. ISHR continues to call on all regional groups going forward to ensure, as a matter of principle, competitive slates; to present more candidacies than the available seats; to encourage more States to present their candidacy; for all candidates to announce their candidacies with sufficient time for voting States and civil society to properly consider their candidacies; and in voting, for all States to commit to making human rights paramount in Council elections, rather than political considerations.

In the present election, we can still make a difference by influencing the number of votes received by each candidate, which can provide an indication of their legitimacy as a Human Rights Council member.

How can you engage?

Check out the video created by our HRCNet coalition which explains the importance of the election and how civil society can participate:

Get in touch!

We would be happy to jointly explore further advocacy/campaign opportunities. If you are interested in further opportunities to engage, please drop us an email!

Send an email