SRINAGAR: India has been elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2026–28 term, securing its place on the 47-member Geneva-based body for the seventh time since its creation in 2006.
According to reports appearing in the media, the election was held at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, and India’s three-year term will begin on January 1, 2026. The announcement was made by the UNHRC in a social media post, confirming that India will once again represent the Asia-Pacific group on the Council.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, expressed gratitude to member states for their overwhelming support. “India was elected to the Human Rights Council for the term 2026–28 for the seventh time today,” he said in a post on X. The election, he added, reflected India’s “unwavering commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms,” noting that New Delhi “looks forward to serving this objective during our tenure.”
India was elected to the Human Rights Council for the term 2026-28 @UN for the seventh time today. Thank all delegations for their overwhelming support.
This election reflects India’s unwavering commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms. We look forward to serve this… pic.twitter.com/rvYj4jRKlY
— Parvathaneni Harish (@AmbHarishP) October 14, 2025
Media reports said India last served on the Council during the 2022–2024 term and had taken a mandatory break in 2025, as the rules of the Council prohibit any member from holding three consecutive terms. Since joining the UNHRC at its inception in 2006, India has served six terms — 2006–2007, 2008–2010, 2012–2014, 2015–2017, 2019–2021, and 2022–2024 — missing only three mandatory gaps in 2011, 2018, and now 2025.
The UN Human Rights Council comprises 47 member states elected by the UN General Assembly for staggered three-year terms, distributed regionally as per UN rules: 13 seats for African States, 13 for Asia-Pacific States, 6 for Eastern European States, 8 for Latin American and Caribbean States, and 7 for Western European and other States.
In the same election, Angola, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Iraq, Italy, Mauritius, Pakistan, Slovenia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam were also elected to the Council for the term starting January 2026, according to the UNHRC’s official statement.
India’s return to the Council, observers noted in media reports, underscores its continued engagement with global human rights discourse and its bid to play a more visible role in shaping international standards on civil liberties, social justice, and sustainable development.
