Human rights Jürg Lauber becomes new Chairman of the UN Human Rights Council
Ambassador Jürg Lauber will be the first Swiss to chair the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2025. Lauber was elected President by acclamation by the member states on Monday and will hold office for one year.
09.12.2024, 16:35
SDA
Switzerland will return to the Council in January for a three-year term after a six-year absence. In the almost 20 years since its inception, the main human rights body of the United Nations, which has always consisted of 47 of the 193 UN members, has never been chaired by a Swiss representative.
No other state from Switzerland's regional bloc has contested Jürg Lauber's candidacy. "It is a great honor and an immense responsibility. But above all it is an opportunity for Switzerland," the 61-year-old from Zug and current Swiss ambassador to the UN in Geneva told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
