Libya, Thailand among newly elected Human Rights Council members
Deutsche Press Agentur
May 13, 2010
New York – The UN General Assembly elected 14 countries Thursday to serve on the 47-nation Human Rights Council, despite criticism that they ran unopposed and some lacked a good rights records themselves.
All 14 countries received well over the required majority of 97 votes in the 192-nation General Assembly. Human rights advocates had singled out Libya, Angola, Malaysia, Mauritania, Qatar, Thailand and Uganda for their flawed human-rights records.
The 14 candidates were designated by countries in five regions to replace 14 seats to be vacated in the 47-member, Geneva-based council.
The newly elected members are Malaysia, Maldives, Qatar and Thailand, which were designated by Asia; Angola, Libya, Mauritania and Uganda were endorsed by Africa; Ecuador and Guatemala were chosen by the Latin American and Caribbean group for two vacant seats; Spain and Switzerland represent Western Europe, and Moldova and Poland represent Eastern Europe.
US Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters that Washington regretted the election of some countries whose human-rights records were ‘problematic.’
But she said the United States, which joined the council in Geneva only last year, will have to work with the body to promote human rights worldwide.
‘We don’t measure the success of the council solely in terms of who is on the body,’ Rice said. ‘The most important metric is what the council does and what action it takes or doesn’t take.’
A coalition of 30 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) based in Geneva had called on the US and the European Union to block Libya, which received 115 votes.
Those NGOs criticized other countries including Thailand and Malaysia for failing to respect human rights, but Thailand received 182 votes and Malaysia 179 votes.
‘To see Libyan dictator Col Moammar Qaddafi judge others on human rights will turn the UN council into a joke,’ said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch in Geneva.
Copyright 2010, DPA
Original URL: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/usa/news/article_1555620.php/Libya-Thailand-among-newly-elected-Human-Rights-Council-members
