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ISHR has published ‘scorecards’ for States seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for 2023-2025 to help inform voting States’ decisions in the upcoming election.

Today, UN member States elected members to the UN's top human rights body, the Human Rights Council, for the 2022-2024 term. 18 candidates ran for 18 seats, and all were elected, leaving civil society disappointed in a process that can hardly be called an election.

This week in an online event, 10 candidate States publicly spoke to an audience of around 200 people on their pledges as incoming Human Rights Council members for 2022 – 2024. They also faced questions on pressing human rights issues from both States and civil society organisations.

ISHR has published ‘scorecards’ for States seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for 2022-2024 to help inform voting States’ decisions in the upcoming election.

10 years after the first SOGI resolution was passed at the Council, 27 States launch the Group of Friends of the mandate of the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Tess McEvoy from ISHR and Gabriel Galil from ILGA World tell the story.

Civil society organisations welcomed significant outcomes of the Human Rights Council's 41st session, including the extension of the SOGI mandate, adopting the first resolution on the Philippines and extending its scrutiny over Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Belarus and Ukraine. This session witnessed heightened scrutiny of Council members by shedding light on the situations in Saudi Arabia and China. It missed an opportunity, however, to ensure that human rights are not sidelined in Sudan.

Targeting those who engage, or seek to engage, with the UN violates human rights, undermines its mandate, subverts its integrity, and threatens its credibility. States must step up their efforts to increase the political cost for other States committing reprisals and thus contribute to prevention of acts of intimidation and reprisals.