A total of 47 countries will be elected on May 9th. UN spokesman Jose-Luis Dias announced that up to now, 17 countries have applied, amongst which 4 were for the seven seats available to Western countries: Germany, Greece, and Portugal. Switzerland is one of the first countries to have applied to become a member of the soon to be formed United Nations Human Rights Council. In its application, Switzerland claimed that it would do everything it could to create a human right’s organ capable of fulfilling its mission. The Swiss government also promised to provide office space to States not represented in Geneva but that wanted to participate in the Council.

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