#HRCelections2026: 15 new members to be elected to the Human Rights Council

What do we want?

We want all candidate States to voluntarily commit to improving the human rights situations both at home and abroad, as well as to enhancing their interaction with the Council.

We also want UN Member States to cast informed votes and vote only for candidates who uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights and who cooperate fully with the UN.

We urge all regional groups of UN Member States to nominate more candidates than the number of seats available to ensure competitive elections to the Human Rights Council.

 

How do we achieve this?

We strengthen the transparency of elections. ISHR publishes scorecards that provide information on candidate States’ record of cooperation and engagement with UN mechanisms. These scorecards help UN Member States cast informed votes.

We are create spaces where civil society and States can interact with candidates about their record and candidacy. On September 3, 2026, ISHR and Amnesty International will host an online Pledging Event where civil society can interact directly and constructively with candidate states by asking them questions. Candidates will also be able to detail the human rights pledges and commitments they made as part of their candidacy.

We engage with States through meetings, letters, and appeals, asking them to base their votes on the Council’s membership criteria and to vote only for candidates who uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights and who cooperate fully with the United Nations.

 

What can you do?

Ask questions to candidates

On 3 September 2026, ISHR and Amnesty International will hold a Pledging Event ahead of the elections taking place at the UN General Assembly in October 2026. Civil society can submit questions to be asked to candidate States. Some will be read and answered during the event. The rest will be sent to candidates by email.

Submit questions

Join our online Pledging Event

In advance of the Human Rights Council elections, Amnesty International and the International Service for Human Rights will hold an online pledging event for candidate States on 3 September 2026. This event will allow Council candidates to present their vision and the priorities they will work on if elected. Representatives of Sates and civil society are invited to participate in this event and ask candidates questions about their human rights record and commitments.

Register and participate

The elections at a glance

The what, when and how of the 2026 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 2027. 

Who are the candidates to the 2026 Human Rights Council elections?

This year the candidate States are [please note that the list of candidates is subject to change and will be updated as new information becomes available]:

• African States: Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia (4 candidates for 4 seats: closed list)
• Asia-Pacific States: Japan, Jordan, Kuwait and Nepal (4 candidates for 4 seats: closed list)
• Latin American and Caribbean States: Brazil, Dominican Republic and Uruguay (3 candidates for 3 seats: closed list)
• Western European and Other States: Germany and Ireland (2 candidates for 2 seats: closed list)
• Central and Eastern European States: Moldova and Ukraine (2 candidates for 2 seats: closed list)

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 has published scorecards for States seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for 2027-2029 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, only one slate is open this year. It means that in all remaining regional groups, the number of candidate States is equal to the number of available seats. All candidates in these slates 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. All UN regional groups of member States should resist withdrawing candidacies to elections that are competitive.

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 the HRCNet coalition in 2021 which explains the importance of the election and how civil society can participate: 

We must continue strengthening the UN human rights system!

The international human rights system is in crisis, both financially and lacking support. This also leads to a shrinking of ISHR support base due to economic crises, a deprioritisation of human rights and the rise of authoritarianism everywhere, while it is the time when defenders need the system the most. The time to act is now, before hard-won achievements erode further. It is our common fight to safeguard international order. If you agree and have capacity, please donate!

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