Geneva Institute for Human Rights

The Meeting of States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on January 18 elected Walter Kälin (Switzerland) and Marat Sarsembayev (Kazakhstan) to the Human Rights Committee, replacing two members who, in a rare move, resigned before completing their four-year terms of office.

Members held two separate elections to fill the vacancies, which came about following the resignations of Helen Keller (Switzerland), whose term was due to expire on December 31, 2014, and Mahjoub El Haiba (Morocco), who had been expected to serve until December 31, 2012. Mr. Kälin was elected in a single round of secret balloting and Mr. Sarsembayev in two rounds. Djakupova Gulsara (Kyrgyzstan) and Khalid Salman Mohammed Ali Al-Nuami (Iraq) lost the election.

Members also elected Abulkalam Abdul Momen (Bangladesh) as its Chairperson, as well as Manuel Korček (Slovak Republic) and Haim Waxman (Israel) as Vice-Chairpersons.

The Human Rights Committee has monitored the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its Protocols since its adoption by the General Assembly on December 16, 1966. The ICCPR commits state parties to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the rights to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, in addition to electoral and due-process rights, and the right to a fair trial. The HRC comprises 18 independent experts elected by Member States to serve four-year terms and convenes three times a year in three-week sessions, two of which are held in Geneva and one in New York.

Mr. Kälin, a former HRC member, is current professor of constitutional and international law at the University of Bern and Director of the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Human Rights. Mr. Sarsembayev, a member of Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission, is Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Kazakh National University and was previously Chair of International Law and Director of the Institute of Human Rights in Almaty.