Uzbekistan elected to United Nations Human Rights Council

By Dilmurod Jumabaev

TASHKENT: Uzbekistan has made a new achievement after it was elected to the Human Rights Council for the first time in its history.

On Tuesday, the UN General Assembly elected 15 new members to the 47-seat Council.

Among the five candidates from the Asia-Pacific region vying for four seats in the UN’s premier human rights body, Uzbekistan secured the second highest number of votes.

In a secret-ballot voting in the 193-member UN General Assembly on that race, Uzbekistan secured 164 votes, Pakistan received 169, Nepal 150, China 139 and Saudi Arabia lost the race with just 90 votes.

“Uzbekistan is committed to furthering broad reforms under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and contributing to the promotion of human rights globally,” Uzbek Deputy Foreign Minister Sherzod Asadov wrote in his Twitter account.

Uzbekistan announced its intention to be a member of the UN human rights body at the 37^th session of the Council in Geneva, in February 2018. This year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved the country’s National Human Rights Strategy.

Together with mentioned-above four countries from the Asia-Pacific region, the following nations were also elected as members of the UN Human Rights Council for a three-year period beginning on January 1, 2021: Bolivia, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Cuba, France, Malawi, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Senegal, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.