Montenegro joins UN Council for Human Rights for three-year period

Podgorica, Montenegro (13 November 2012) – Montenegro became a member of the United Nations Council for Human Rights for the period 2013 - 2015 on Monday. 

Montenegro applied for the membership in 2008, thus voicing willingness to respect the highest standards in promoting and safeguarding human rights, and fully cooperating with the Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. This it is a remarkable success of the young Montenegrin diplomacy bearing in mind that only Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, out of the countries of former Yugoslavia, gained admittance to the UN's top human rights body.

Based on the UN General Assembly Resolution, the main criteria for the Council’s membership are the contribution to the advancement and protection of human rights, and voluntarily taken responsibilities that candidate states aim to fully implement during the three-year membership period.

The UN Council for Human Rights in Geneva was established in 2006 by the General Assembly's Resolution 60/251, thus replacing the former Commission for Human Rights. The Council is made up of 47 member states, out of which one third serves three-year terms.