Switzerland elected to UN Human Rights Council after five-year absence

Switzerland's last term as one of the 47 members of the Council ended five years ago. Keystone/Salvatore Di Nolfi

Switzerland will return to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council from January next year until the end of 2027.

The UN General Assembly re-elected Switzerland to the Council on Wednesday in New York, following a five-year absence.

This return was seen as a certainty, as Switzerland, alongside Spain and Iceland, contested the three seats allocated to their regional group. Switzerland secured 175 votes out of 183 eligible voters.

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Switzerland’s last term as one of the 47 members of the Council ended five years ago. Since then, the Alpine country has been able to take part in discussions but has not been able to vote on draft resolutions.

In recent years, Switzerland had not pursued membership to avoid any confusion with its bid for a seat on the UN Security Council in New York. Now, its two-year mandate on the UN’s most powerful body, which it is currently chairing for a month, is due to expire at the end of December.

This will be Switzerland’s fourth term as a member of the UN Human Rights Council.

Translated from German by DeepL/sp

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