General Assembly President Jan Eliasson on Thursday presented a new draft resolution on the establishment of the Human Rights Council in a fresh bid to smooth differences between the developed and developing countries.

The draft, introduced to all UN member states in an informal assembly session earlier in the day, for the first time provides for the method of electing members of the Human Rights Council.

The text, which was drawn up by Eliasson after week-long intensive bilateral talks with relevant countries, says that the council would be composed of 47 members and each of them would be elected "directly and individually" by a vote of majority in the 191-nation assembly.

Replacing the Geneva-based Commission on Human Rights with a human rights council is a major step to reform the UN human rights machinery agreed by world leaders at last September's summit in New York.
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But the talks over the creation of the council have been deadlocked for months as both the developed and the developing countries have been bitterly divided over the composition, election method, criteria for the membership and size of the new human rights body.

The developed countries, led by the United States, have insisted that each member of the rights council needs to get the support of a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly, while the developing nations stick to a simple majority.

The developing world also call for a small-sized council, with Washington standing for a maximum of 30 seats. But the developing world maintains that the council should have the same size as that of the 53-nation human rights commission.

The developed camp has argued that the present human rights commission was discredited by the inclusion of some countries with poor human rights record in its membership. However, the developing camp believe the commission was discredited because of the practices of imposing double standards on its work by some countries.

Under the new text, Africa and Asia would get 13 seats on the council, while Latin America, Eastern Europe and Western Europe would have eight, seven and six seats. All council members should not be eligible for immediate re-election after two straight three-year terms.

While softening the language on criteria for selecting council members, the draft stipulates that the assembly, by a vote of two-thirds majority, may suspend the membership of a council member that commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.

Eliasson has hoped for the adoption of the text by the General Assembly next week so that the council could be established before the human rights commission convenes its annual conference on March 13.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2006)