India Secures A Place In UN Human Rights Council With 188 Votes Out Of 193

Securing the highest number of votes among all the other candidates to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR), India has successfully earned its place after a long wait. For the Asia-Pacific Region, there were five vacancies to be filled up, and India was among Bangladesh, Bahrain, Fiji and Philippines who contested for the seat.

Indian Ambassador to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, tweeted this earlier.

Since the previous UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, had asked the Council to look into initiating a probe into the possible human rights violations in Kashmir valley, this election victory has proved to be really important for India. This demand was repeated by his successor, Michelle Bachelet, as well, and Pakistan is ensuring that they lobby to smear the name of India, alleging that the country engages in abuse of human rights, Times Now reported.

India was represented at the Commission in 2006 for a period of one year, and then we secured three-year terms in 2007, 2011 and 2014. India has secured a whopping 188 votes out of 193, the highest among all contesting candidates. Currently, China, Pakistan and Nepal are still serving their three-year terms at the Commission.