Nomination, Selection and Appointment of Mandate Holders

Special procedure mandate holders and members of Expert Mechanisms of the Human Rights Council are appointed through a competitive and transparent process carried out in several stages. First, candidates submit an online written application in response to a call for applications issued by the Secretariat.

In the next stage, the Consultative Group, which is composed of five high-level representatives nominated by each of the five regional groups and serving in their personal capacity, considers the applications received and shortlists candidates for interviews. Following the interviews of the shortlisted candidates, the Consultative Group presents its public report to the President of the Council, which includes a list of recommended candidates for each available vacancy.

Following broad consultations, and based on the recommendations of the Consultative Group, the President of the Council identifies an appropriate candidate for each vacancy. The President proposes the list of all candidates identified for all available vacancies to the Council. The appointment is completed when the candidates put forward by the President are approved by the Council.

For comprehensive information on the mandate of the Consultative Group and the selection and appointment process of independent United Nations experts of the Human Rights Council, including frequently asked questions about the application process, please visit this web page.