The UN Human Rights Council, the UN’s main human rights forum, has elected its leadership for the next year. It has chosen the Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic Václav Bálek as its President. Ambassador Bálek will assume the office on 1 January 2023 and will preside the Council throughout the whole year. The Council has also appointed four Vice-Presidents, the Permanent Representatives of Bolivia, Gambia, Luxembourg and the Maldives.

"It is both a great honour and responsibility for me and for the Czech Republic," said Permanent Representative Václav Bálek. In his acceptance speech, he recalled the Czech history and its strong link with the protection of human rights. During his Presidency, he plans to support the Council's preventive mandate, to involve different actors in the Council's work and to work towards improving the functioning of Council’s core activities.

The Presidency of the Council is one of the most prestigious and visible roles for Member States at the United Nations. Moreover, this is the first time that a Czech representative will preside over the Council. The role of the President includes, for example, convening and chairing Council meetings, proposing the appointment of human rights experts working within the UN and representing the Council to the public and the media.

At the same time, the Czech membership of the Council will continue. It began in May 2022 and will end in December 2023.

Full statement: HRC Organizational Session 09 12 2022 - Acceptance Speech (DOCX, 16 KB)