The Czech Republic has been approved for another three-year term on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), tasked to monitor the human rights situation in all 193 UN member states. The Czech candidacy was supported by 166 countries in a vote of the UN General Assembly yesterday.
The Czech Republic will be a member of the council for the fifth time in less than 20 years of its existence, and will become a full member again after a one-year break.
The Czech Foreign Ministry told CTK that the Czech Republic would focus on the human rights situation in Russia and Belarus. “Our continued membership is a confirmation of the priority position of human rights in foreign policy, which is in line with the government policy statement of January 2022,” the ministry said.
The UNHRC, which is made up of 47 member countries, is the main intergovernmental body of the UN responsible for human rights issues. It serves as a forum for debate on issues ranging from freedom of expression and the protection of minorities to armed conflicts. The council sends observers to various regions, makes recommendations, and regularly assesses the situation in all UN countries.
The General Assembly yesterday elected 18 new members for a three-year term starting on 1 January 2025. The Czech Republic received 166 votes out of 190 valid ones in the secret ballot. Member states also elected South Korea, Qatar, Congo, Spain, Colombia, Cyprus and Switzerland to the UNHRC.
“Our main priorities will be to table further resolutions on freedom of assembly and association and equal participation. We will continue to support civil society, NGOs, human rights advocates and journalists. Our attention will be focused on the human rights situation in Russia and Belarus,” said the Czech Foreign Ministry.
The Geneva-based council was created in 2006, and the Czech Republic was a member in its first two years, as well as from 2011 to 2014 and again from 2019 to 2021. In May 2022, it was elected as a member until 31 December 2023 to fill the seat vacated by Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Last year, the Czech Republic chaired the council for the first time since its creation.
In recent years, the UNHRC has addressed issues such as the Chinese authorities’ crackdown on the Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province, war crimes in Ukraine, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In 2022, Czech politicians reacted negatively to a UNHRC report which concluded that the main causes of tensions between Israel and Palestine are the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the discriminatory behaviour of the Israeli state towards the Palestinians.
The Czech government states that its long-term priorities in the context of human rights are support for international human rights mechanisms, civil society, freedom of expression and access to information, and the building of rule of law institutions.
