2009 Elections

UN Human Rights Council

The following states will have their initial terms expire in 2009:

African States	Asian States	Eastern European States	Latin American & Caribbean States	Western European & Other States
Cameroon	Bangladesh	Azerbaijan	Cuba	Canada
Djibouti	China	Russian Federation	Mexico	Germany
Mauritius	Jordan		Uruguay	Switzerland
Nigeria	Malaysia
Senegal	Saudi Arabia

DCP Joins the NGO Coalition for an Effective Human Rights Counicl to Ensure Accountability in Council Elections

The United Nations General Assembly will hold elections for 18 of the 47 seats on the Human Rights Council on May 12 in New York. In anticipation of this event, DCP has once again partnered with NGOs from all regions of the world to campaign for an effective Human Rights Council. The NGO Coalition works to ensure that UN member states enforce the requirements set in UN General Assembly Resolution 60/251 that members of the Council “uphold the highest standards of human rights” and “cooperate with the Council.”

In a letter to UN member states, the NGO Coalition for an Effective Human Rights Council expressed concern that the human rights records of Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Russia and Saudi Arabia, all of which are running for re-election, fall far short of the required “highest” standards of human rights. The coalition has expressed concern this year about the lack of competitive elections in several regions, including for the first time in the Western and Asian groups.

Members of the coalition include Human Rights Watch, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, International Federation for Human Rights, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, People In Need, and Centro de Derechos Humanos - Miguel Augustin Pro Juarez.

For more information, visit the NGO Coalition’s website.

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DCP welcomes US decision to seek seat on UN human rights body

The Democracy Coalition Project released a statement welcoming the decision by the United States to seek a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council in the upcoming elections in May. DCP's Executive Director Dokhi Fassihian said, “This decision symbolizes U.S. reengagement with the UN and a renewed commitment to work with others to improve the state of human rights around the world.” However, the announcement by the Obama Administration is tempered with the announcement by New Zealand that it has withdrawn its bid for election in the same regional group, ensuring that the United States and two other candidates, Norway and Belgium, run unchallenged.

To read the Press Release, click here.

UN: Hold Competitive Voting for Rights Body

The Democracy Coalition Project joined more than 30 human rights organizations from around the world in writing to each state in the United Nations’ five regional groups to urge them to present competitive slates for election to the Human Rights Council. In public letters, the coalition said that regional groups should put forward more candidates than there are open seats to allow the universal membership of the United Nations to select the best candidates from each region. DCP's Executive Director Dokhi Fassihian stated that “States should have a real choice in each region. A seat on the Human Rights Council is a prize that should be won by candidates, not a gift handed to them.” The groups encouraged states “that believe they could, if elected, make a real contribution to the council to come forward” and enter the race for election in the three regions that currently are not competitive – Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe and others.

To read the Press Release, click here.

To read the letters from the coalition of human rights organizations to the five regional groups, please see the following:

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