India re-elected to UN Human Rights Council for 2026-28 term

Election highlights India’s continued commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms

October 15, 2025

India wins seventh term at UN Human Rights Council

India to begin new three-year term on January 1, 2026

India has been elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2026–28 term, marking the country’s seventh tenure on the Geneva-based rights body. The election was held on Tuesday, and India’s new three-year term will begin on January 1, 2026, the UNHRC announced.

India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Parvathaneni Harish, expressed gratitude to all member states for their strong support.

“India was elected to the Human Rights Council for the term 2026–28 for the seventh time today. This reflects our unwavering commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” he said in a post on X.

The UNHRC comprises 47 member states, elected by the UN General Assembly for staggered three-year terms, with seats distributed across five regional groups — 13 for African states, 13 for Asia-Pacific, six for Eastern Europe, eight for Latin America and the Caribbean, and seven for Western Europe and others.

India last served on the Council for the 2022–24 term and observed a mandatory one-year gap in 2025 before seeking re-election, in accordance with UN rules that bar three consecutive terms.

Since the Council’s creation in 2006, India has served six terms — 2006–2007, 2008–2010, 2012–2014, 2015–2017, 2019–2021, and 2022–2024 — missing only three mandatory breaks in 2011, 2018, and 2025.

In its first election to the Council in 2006, India had won 173 of 190 votes, the highest among all countries that year.

Other countries elected alongside India for the 2026–28 term include Angola, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Iraq, Italy, Mauritius, Pakistan, Slovenia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, the UNHRC said.

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