India was re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council for another three-year term on Thursday with an overwhelming majority of members voting for the country in the General Assembly.

The 76th UN General Assembly held elections on Thursday for 18 new members of the UN Human Rights Council for the term beginning January 2022 which will end on December 31, 2024.

India got 184 votes in the 193-member assembly, while the required majority was 97.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti said in a Tweet: "India gets re-elected to the @UN_HRC (2022-24) for a 6th term with overwhelming majority. Heartfelt gratitude to the @UN membership for reposing its faith in India."

"We will continue to work for promotion and protection of Human Rights through #Samman #Samvad #Sahyog #Samman #Samvad #Sahyog," he added.

India's current term was set to end on December 31 2021. For election for the term 2022-2024, there were five vacant seats in the Asia-Pacific States category – India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.

The United States, which had quit the council in 2018 under the previous Donald Trump's regime, was re-elected to the global rights body. Ahead of its dramatic walkout, the US had accused the UN of hypocrisy and obsession with haranguing Israel. It received 168 votes during Thursday's vote.

US Ambassador at UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington's election to the Council has "fulfilled President Biden's campaign pledge to rejoin the Human Rights Council" and the US will "work to ensure this body lives up to these principles."

"We will oppose the Council's disproportionate attention on Israel, which includes the Council's only standing agenda item targeting a single country," she added.

The 193-member General Assembly also elected by secret ballot Argentina, Benin, Cameroon, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Montenegro, Paraguay, Qatar, Somalia, UAE and the USA for the 2022-2024 term on the Council.

India's mission congratulated other UN Member States for their election to the Human Rights Council, which consists of 47 Member States elected directly and individually by secret ballot by the majority of the members of the General Assembly.

The members serve for a period of three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after two consecutive terms.

The membership is based on equitable geographical distribution, and seats are distributed among regional groups Group of African States (13), Group of Asia-Pacific States (13), Group of Eastern European States (6), Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (8) and Group of Western European and other States (7).

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