Zambia Wins Seat on UN Human Rights Council for 2027–2029

Zambia has been elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2027–2029 term after receiving 177 of the 181 valid ballots cast in the General Assembly election.

The country will take office on 1 January for a three-year term, serving alongside 15 other newly elected nations on the council, which has 47 members.

African representation

Burundi, Ghana and Nigeria were also elected from Africa. The other successful candidates listed in the election were Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Nepal, Moldova, Ukraine and Uruguay.

Zambia’s 177 votes were the highest total recorded by candidate countries in the election, according to the source report.

Focus on human rights

President Hakainde Hichilema described the result as a strong endorsement of Zambia’s commitment to human rights and thanked United Nations member states for their vote of confidence.

Hichilema said the performance of Zambia’s council membership would ultimately be judged by citizens’ experiences at home and by the country’s ability to represent Africa.

Established in 2006, the Human Rights Council is the United Nations’ main intergovernmental body for promoting and protecting fundamental rights worldwide. Its work includes monitoring human rights situations in different countries, conducting periodic reviews of member states and addressing allegations of violations.

Council seats are distributed according to geographical representation, and members are elected by the General Assembly through a secret ballot.