UN Human Rights Council Call for Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions and Three Expert Positions (HRC64, Unpaid)

The Secretariat of the UN Human Rights Council, part of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, is accepting applications for four mandate-holder vacancies. The appointments are expected to be made during the Council’s 64th session (22 February to 2 April 2027).

OHCHR sent the call to National Human Rights Institutions on 7 September 2026, and the National Human Rights Commission of India posted it on its Vacancies page on 21 September 2026.

• Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (Human Rights Council resolution 62/10)
• Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), member from Africa (resolution 33/25)
• Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), member from North America (resolution 33/25)
• Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, member from African States (resolution 54/26). This appointment will be made only if the Council extends the mandate itself.

Candidates should have extensive and recognised professional experience and expertise in human rights, with an emphasis on the specific themes of the mandate they apply for. This is a senior appointment, suited to experienced human rights lawyers, scholars and practitioners.

• Working Group seat: open only to nationals of States in the specific UN regional group advertised, here the African States.
• EMRIP seats: candidates must represent the Indigenous sociocultural region advertised (Africa or North America).
• Special Rapporteur: the call places no regional restriction on this vacancy, so it is the one position open to applicants from India.

The work of mandate holders is unpaid. Mandate holders serve in their personal capacity. They are not UN staff members and receive no salary or other financial compensation. They are not based at UN offices in Geneva or elsewhere, but may have to undertake official travel, for which they receive only travel expenses and a daily subsistence allowance under UN rules.

Depending on the mandate, the work can include taking part in Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva and General Assembly sessions in New York, undertaking two country visits a year, drafting reports to deadline, holding consultations, taking up allegations of human rights violations with the stakeholders concerned, and advising States and others on the mandate. Candidates should be able to give an estimated four to six months a year to the work.

Every applicant must complete both parts before the deadline. Incomplete applications, or applications missing either part, will not be considered.

• Part 1, online survey: collects personal data (name, gender, nationality), contact details, the mandate applied for and any nominating entity. Fill it in English or French only.
• Part 2, mandate-specific Word application form: download the form for your mandate from the HRC64 appointments page. Complete it in English or French, keep it in Word format, and email it as an attachment to ohchr-hrc-appointments@un.org. Section III of the form is a motivation letter of no more than 600 words, and Sections VII and VIII must also be completed.
• Up to three optional letters of support may be emailed in Word or PDF. CVs, résumés and further letters are not accepted.
• Use the same name, gender and nationality in the survey and the Word form. The form will be posted on the OHCHR website as received, as part of the public list of eligible candidates.

Complete applications must reach the Secretariat by 20 October 2026 at 12 noon Geneva time (3:30 pm IST). Candidates receive an email acknowledgement once both parts have been received and reviewed. Shortlisted candidates are interviewed at a later stage, and the Council makes the appointments at its 64th session.

Read the OHCHR application guidelines before applying. For technical difficulties, write to the Secretariat at ohchr-hrc-appointments@un.org.