Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany

08/21/2026 | Press release | Archived content

Germany’s candidature for the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2027-2029 term

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Germany's candidature for the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2027-2029 term

Logo Germany's candidature for the United Nations Human Rights Council © AA

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21.08.2026 - Article

Germany is running for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2027-2029 term. As voting member, we want to champion universal respect for human rights and to take on additional responsibility in the United Nations, especially in difficult times.

Since the establishment of the Human Rights Council 20 years ago, Germany has been one of its key supporters and has already served five times as a voting member. We have been particularly committed, for example, to documenting human rights violations in countries such as Iran, Syria or the Sudan. In doing so, we aim to give survivors a voice and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. At the same time, we advocate the better protection of human rights defenders as well as the protection of civil society engagement. We are actively involved in the worldwide campaign against the death penalty and are promoting, among other causes, the rights to water and sanitation.

In the Human Rights Council, we intend to continue our efforts to safeguard human rights around the world and to initiate reforms of the Human Rights Council itself to make it more effective, inclusive and capable of taking action. In particular, we want to continue promoting the protection of human rights defenders and to strengthen fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Furthermore, we intend to place a stronger emphasis on combating transnational repression and standing up for freedom of religion or belief.

Germany's priorities for membership of the Human Rights Council in the 2027-2029 term are available here:

Candidature of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations Human Rights Council (2027-2029) PDF / 202 KB

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Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany published this content on August 21, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 01, 2026 at 10:29 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]