United Nations, Oct 10 (IANS): The UN General Assembly elected 18 members to the 47-member Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term.

The 18 countries -- Benin, Bolivia, Colombia, Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Iceland, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Mexico, North Macedonia, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand -- were elected by a secret ballot on Wednesday, and they will serve three-year terms beginning on January 1, 2025, replacing members whose terms of office are set to expire on December 31, 2024.

All the outgoing members -- Argentina, Benin, Cameroon, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Montenegro, Paraguay, Qatar, Somalia, United Arab Emirates and the United States -- were eligible for immediate re-election except those members who have served two consecutive terms, including Argentina, Cameroon, Eritrea, India and Somalia, Xinhua news agency reported.

Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Maldives, Morocco, Netherlands, Romania, South Africa, Sudan and Vietnam will continue to be members of the council.

The Geneva-based Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world. About a third of its 47 members are replaced every year so that the council members serve staggered three-year terms for the sake of continuity.

Seats of the Human Rights Council are allocated based on regional groups for the sake of geographical representation: 13 each for Africa and the Asia-Pacific; eight for Latin America and the Caribbean; seven for Western Europe and other states; six for Eastern Europe.