Under Council rules, presidents are appointed to serve for one year by the body’s 47 Member States, based in Geneva.
Ambassador Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro will now lead proceedings at the UN forum after his nomination as the sole candidate of the Asia-Pacific group, whose turn it was to propose a leader for the Council.
Other members of the regional bloc include China, Japan and South Korea.
Succeeds Switzerland
Mr. Suryodipuro takes over from last year’s President, Jurg Lauber from Switzerland; the Indonesian ambassador will now wield the gavel at the Council’s three scheduled sessions beginning in late February, June and September.
He’ll also be overseeing reviews of the human rights record of the Council’s Members – a procedure known as the Universal Periodic Review.
After his confirmation on Thursday, Mr. Suryodipuro said that Indonesia had been a strong supporter of the Council since it began its work 20 years ago, and of the Geneva forum’s predecessor, the Human Rights Commission.
“Our decision to step forward is rooted in our 1945 constitution and that aligns with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter which mandates Indonesia to contribute to world peace based on independence, peace and social justice,” he told delegates.
At the same meeting, delegates also agreed to the appointment of Ecuadorian candidate, Ambassador Marcelo Vázquez Bermúdez, as Vice President of the Council for 2026.
‘Deep seated global crisis’
Although Mr. Bermudez was the sole candidate of the group of Latin American and Caribbean states, his bid was not endorsed by Bolivia nor Cuba, which disassociated itself from his election.
Taking the floor at the organizational meeting of the Council, Colombian representative María Juliana Tenorio Quintero highlighted the tense geopolitical backdrop to discussions, which she called a context of “deep-seated global crisis”.
“We now see a return of threats and force as a way of governing international relations without looking at the real impact on the international situation and this threatens the system that for more than eight decades has been essential in avoiding a third world war,” she said.
At this “historic” moment, Ms. Quintero urged all delegates to ensure an “absolute abiding” by human rights law. “We must act in accordance with international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international law as a whole,” she insisted.
