UN Elects Fifteen Countries Including Nepal To Human Rights Council

The UN General Assembly elected 15 countries, including India's neighbour Nepal, to the Human Rights Council in a vote where every candidate ran unopposed.

On Tuesday, 13 October 2026, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United Nations General Assembly (the main policy-making body of the UN where all member states have a vote) elected 15 countries to the Human Rights Council. This council is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and works to protect and promote basic freedoms around the world. The newly elected countries are Brazil, Burundi, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Nepal, Nigeria, Moldova, Ukraine, Uruguay and Zambia. They will begin their three-year terms on 1 January 2027. All 15 candidates ran unopposed. This happened because each regional group put forward only as many candidates as there were open seats. To win a seat, a country needed to get a majority of 97 votes from the voting members. Zambia led the count with 177 votes, while Burundi received the fewest with 160 votes.

Why it matters

The Human Rights Council is a vital international body with 47 member states that sets up important investigations into serious abuses during conflicts like those in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine. Because of this, who sits on the council directly shapes which global crises receive proper scrutiny and help. Ordinary people affected by war, violence and oppression rely on these independent investigations to hold powerful governments and armed groups accountable. However, human rights organisations have long objected to uncontested elections where there is only one candidate for each seat. These groups argue that such elections give the General Assembly no real choice. They point out that this system makes it very easy for governments with poor human rights records to win seats on the council without facing any genuine competition or public debate about their own domestic practices. This raises important questions about whether the council can truly stand up for victims when some of its own members face serious accusations of rights violations.

Key facts

• The United Nations General Assembly elected 15 countries to the Human Rights Council for three-year terms starting 1 January 2027.

• All 15 candidates ran unopposed because regional groups put forward only as many candidates as available seats.

• Zambia led the vote count with 177 votes, while Burundi received the lowest count with 160 votes.

• Six countries including Brazil, Ghana and Japan were re-elected, and India's neighbour Nepal returns for a third term.

• The United States withdrew from the council in early 2025 under President Donald Trump.

What's next

Nepal, which last served on the council from 2018 to 2023, thanked member states for their "trust and confidence" in its commitment to human rights and a rules-based international system. The newly elected countries will officially take their seats at the Geneva-based council in January 2027, replacing members whose terms are ending. As these new members prepare to join, observers and civil society groups will be watching closely to see how the council handles ongoing global conflicts and whether member states with difficult domestic records will face proper scrutiny. The big question remains whether this powerful international body can maintain its credibility and effectively defend the rights of ordinary civilians when its election process offers member countries no real alternative choices.