Answer: The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system and is made up of 47 United Nations Member States, which are elected by the UN General Assembly. It meets at the UN Office at Geneva. Functions of the United Nations Human Rights Council:

• It is responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.
• It aims to prevent and combat human rights violations, including gross and systematic violations, and to make recommendations thereon.
• It also works to promote and coordinate the mainstreaming of human rights within the UN system.
• The Council serves as a forum for dialogue among States, with input from other stakeholders like NGOs etc. Through dialogue and cooperation, it contributes towards the prevention of human rights violations and responds promptly to human rights emergencies.

However, while performing these functions, following are the hurdles faced by the Council in promotion and protection of human rights around the globe:

• Vague membership criteria: It requires candidates to commit to the highest standards of human rights, and states should take into account a nominee’s human rights record when voting. Both of these rules are basically unenforceable. Also, the “measurement” and respective ranking of human rights records across states is contentious.
• Issues in Council elections: In some elections, there is lack of competitiveness. Countries have run unopposed after regional groups nominated the exact number of countries required to fill Council vacancies.
  • Also, the Council’s closed ballot elections make it easier for countries with questionable human rights records to be elected to the Council.
• Prone to politicization: States generally vote in favour of their national interests rather than human rights interests if the two should clash. Thus, the Council remains prone to politicization, as evidenced by decisions that privilege political interests over human rights protection.
• Reprisals against human rights defenders: NGO representatives invited to speak at the Council are too often interrupted with harassing points of order from repressive delegations.
• Others:
  • The submissions and statements of governments perceived to be human rights abusers are taken at face value rather than being challenged.
  • Many experts have also expressed concern regarding some member states’ rejection of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations and nonparticipation in the UPR process.

Thus, there is need to undertake various measures such as open ballots in Council elections, lowering the two-thirds vote threshold to make it easier to remove a Council member, strengthening UPR mechanism of the UNHRC. Moreover, any state found to be responsible for reprisals against human rights defenders, and which fails to rectify them, should be disqualified from sitting on the Council.