Nepal will seek re-election for some key UN positions, such as member of the United Nations Human Rights Council and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which coordinates the work of the various 14 UN specialized agencies, ten functional commissions, and five regional commissions.

Nepal served as a member of the UN Human Rights Council for two consecutive terms, and in December last year, it completed its second term.

“Since we served as a member of the UN Human Rights Council for two constitutive terms, we are taking a break for one term,” said Amrit Rai, spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We have already announced our candidacy for the 2027-2029 term.”

Nepal served as a member of the Council since January 2018 and completed its second constitutive term in December 2023. In October 2020, Nepal was re-elected with 150 votes. Nepal’s candidature falls under the Asia-Pacific region.

“Since we have already announced our candidacy, we have also started lobbying for reelection,” said Rai, who also heads the UN Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Established by the UN General Assembly in 2006 as the principal United Nations entity dealing with human rights, the Human Rights Council consists of 47 elected Member States.

The Council seats are allocated, on the basis of equitable geographical distribution, to the five regional groups as follows: 13 seats for African States; 13 seats for Asia-Pacific States; 6 seats for Eastern European States; 8 seats for Latin American and Caribbean States; and seven seats for Western European and other States.

The foreign ministry officials said the role and responsibility that Nepal played and achieved during the two constitutive terms inspired us to re-contest the elections in the UN bodies.

Nepal, which is also a current member of the ECOSOC, also announced its candidacy for the year 2029-2031, said Rai.

With the highest number of votes from the Asia-Pacific region, Nepal has been elected as a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2024-26 term in the elections held at UN Headquarters in January 2023.

The council consists of 54 member states elected by the UN General Assembly for a term of three years from five different regional groups. As an elected member, Nepal has started serving in the ECOSOC for a three-year term from January this year.

The ECOSOC, established by the UN Charter in 1945 as one of the six main organs of the United Nations, is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve socio-economic progress, including Sustainable Development Goals.

Nepal is also contesting various UN subsidiary positions for different terms. The most important candidature that Nepal has announced is to seek a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the year 2037-38.

Nepal has already announced its candidacy for the position and started lobbying, too, said officials. Besides five permanent members, ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by the UN General Assembly.

According to Rai, Nepal has also announced its candidatures for vice president of ECOSOC, 2024-2025 (endorsed by APG and will be elected by Council in July), besides the UN Security Council, 2037-2038; Human Rights Council, 2027-2029; and Economic and Social Council, 2029-2031.

Nepal’s other candidatures are for chair of the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, 81st session (2026-2027); Commission on Narcotics Drug-CND, 2028-2031; ⁠Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice-CCPCJ, 2028-2030; Executive Board of the UN Children’s Fund-UNICEF, 2027-2029, and Executive Board of UN Women, 2025-2027 (elected in April 2024 and will serve from January 2025).

Likewise, Nepal is also vying for positions on the ⁠Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, 2026-2028 and ⁠CEDAW, 2025-2028 and has already started lobbying and garnered support from member states.