UNITED NATIONS, May 12 (RIA Novosti) - A session of the UN General Assembly Tuesday elected Russia to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the second time and the United States for the first time.

Russia received 146 and the United States 167 votes out of 191.

The UNHRC is an intergovernmental body, a successor to the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR).

Based in Geneva, the UNHRC's main purpose is to make recommendations to the General Assembly about situations in which human rights are violated.

Countries are elected to the 47-member body for three-year terms, with elections rarely contested. From Eastern Europe, Russia and Hungary beat out Azerbaijan, while Kenya was the only other candidate to miss out.

The other new members, whose term starts in June, are Bangladesh, Belgium, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Uruguay.