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So far 17 countries have announced their candidacies for next month's election to the new 47-member Human Rights Council that replaces the much-criticized and now-defunct Human Rights Commission, a spokesperson for the UN General Assembly said Monday.

The elections are scheduled to take place in the General Assembly on May 9 and the new council will hold its first meeting in Geneva on June 19.

The 17 countries which have announced their candidacies are: Algeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Ukraine, Latvia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Switzerland.

The Human Rights Commission concluded its final session in Geneva last week. During the meeting, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said the March 15 vote by the General Assembly to set up the Human Rights Council marked "a major stride forward" for the UN's human rights system.

"While we can say for sure that the decision taken in New York was one of historical significance, its actual impact on people's lives is still to be determined. Much will rest on the profound culture shift that must accompany this institutional reform," Arbour said.

The commission came in for increasing criticism over the years as being ineffective and not accountable, and so the idea of the Human Rights Council was put forward by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan a year ago.

The council has several elements making it a stronger body than the commission, including its higher status as a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, its increased number of meetings throughout the year and equitable geographical representation.

(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2006)