Korea Gets Seat on UN Rights Council

Korea was elected as a member country of the newly established United Nations’ Human Rights Council on May 9.

Korea was elected with 148 votes out of 191 member states during the Human Rights Council election held at the General Assembly meeting. Out of 64 candidate countries, 47 were elected as the members of the council with enforced function and authority compared to the existing UN Human Rights Committee.

Thirteen seats were given to Asia that had 18 candidates. India had the largest number of votes with 173 votes. Korea’s 148 votes rank seventh out of the 13 Asian countries.

The Human Rights Council will hold its first meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 19 and commence its official activities.

The Human Rights Committee is an affiliate organization of the United Nations Economic and Social Council with 53 member states, but the Human Rights Council will have greater status as an affiliate of the General Assembly with 47 members with fortified qualifications.

Jong sik Kong kong@donga.com