HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ELECTS BUREAU FOR THIRD ANNUAL CYCLE

The Human Rights Council today elected the new President and officers of the Bureau of the Council for its third annual cycle which begins today.

The Council elected by acclamation Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi of Nigeria as the new President of the Human Rights Council. Four Vice Presidents were also elected: Elchin Amirbayov of Azerbaijan, Erlinda F. Basilio of the Philippines, Alberto J. Dumont of Argentina and Marius Grinius of Canada. Mr. Amirbayov was also elected as Rapporteur. The terms for the newly appointed bureau members will end on 18 June 2009.

In his opening statement, Mr. Uhomoibhi, recalling that the Council’s chief purpose was to uphold the “sanctity of human life” and the dignity of the human person through the promotion and protection of human rights, stated that any “failure to advance the aims and objectives of the Human Rights Council collectively by all nations, all people’s and all institutions will be a colossal failure of humanity to protect its own dignity and rights under the rule of law and agreed norms and practices”. He added: “No nation or people have a monopoly over human rights, but all nations, and certainly all people, have a duty to promote and protect human rights … States must act in a practical and demonstrable manner to show the world that they are indeed abiding by their commitment to respect human rights of citizens”.

Paying tribute to the High Commissioner and the work of her Office, the newly elected President said the Council must collectively empower further the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, all regional and national human rights institutions and others in the same category to continue to advocate the importance of raising awareness about human rights especially within government circles and law enforcement agencies. He also stressed the importance of the Council to “continue to direct its gaze and search light on actions of States to ensure that they abide by all their commitments”. Paying tribute to his predecessors, Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico, and Doru Romulus Costea of Romania, he said he would uphold the “best practices” they had set and would do his best to promote and establish honest dialogue in the Council. This dialogue, he added, could be “between two nations, two cultures, two religions, two civilizations and even among all people”.

While welcoming the newly elected President and Bureau members, a number of States paid tribute to Mr. Costea for his guidance and able leadership over the course of the year and for his personal commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights.

In his own remarks, Mr. Costea recalled the many achievements accomplished over the course of the year, chief among them, the commencement of the Universal Periodic Review mechanism. “Through this exercise we now have a road map and there now 32 countries whose human rights records had been reviewed … This will not only be a beauty contest but will be to the benefit of those States who participate in the Council”. While the Council had achieved much over the course of the year, it still had a long way to go. Mr. Costea said he was confident that the Council would achieve its goals successfully. “In this challenge we will benefit by all the wisdom we’ve had, and by the assistance and professional help of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.” Addressing High Commissioner Louise Arbour, he said she would continue to be an inspiration to him, as she had during his tenure as President over the last year.

The States who took the floor during the organizational meeting were Egypt (on behalf of the African Group), Pakistan (on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference), Cuba (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement), Tunisia, Chile, China, Slovenia (on behalf of the European Union), Slovakia, Ghana, India, Qatar, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Israel, Mauritania, Morocco, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, Jordan, Cameroon, Senegal, Algeria, Switzerland and Bahrain. The International Organisation of the Francophonie and the International Organization of Indigenous Resource Development also took the floor.

The ninth regular session of the Human Rights Council will be held from 8 to 26 September 2008.

Membership of the Human Rights Council for Third Cycle (19 June 2008 to 18 June 2009):


Angola (2010), Argentina (2011), Azerbaijan (2009), Bahrain (2011), Bangladesh (2009), Bolivia (2010), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2010), Brazil (2011), Burkina Faso (2011), Cameroon (2009), Canada (2009), Chile (2011), China (2009), Cuba (2009), Djibouti (2009), Egypt (2010), France (2011), Gabon (2011), Germany (2009), Ghana (2011), India (2010), Indonesia (2010), Italy (2010), Japan (2011), Jordan (2009), Madagascar (2010), Malaysia (2009), Mauritius (2009), Mexico (2009), Netherlands (2010), Nicaragua (2010), Nigeria (2009), Pakistan (2011), Philippines (2010), Qatar (2010), Republic of Korea (2011), Russian Federation (2009), Saudi Arabia (2009), Senegal (2009), Slovakia (2011), Slovenia (2010), South Africa (2010), Switzerland (2009), Ukraine (2011), United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2011), Uruguay (2009) and Zambia (2011).


For use of the information media; not an official record


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