New UN Human Rights Council Membership
11 May, 2006
The 47 members of the UN’s new Human Rights Council, which replaces the beleaguered UN Commission on Human Rights, have been elected. In a move that has pleased many human rights NGOs, Iran and Venezuela have had their membership bids defeated. However, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and China were successfully elected to the body. The US, which opposed the establishment of the Council on the grounds that membership rules did not adequately prevent rights abusers from joining, did not field a candidate.
The allocation of seats were:
- Africa: 13
- Asia: 13
- Eastern Europe: 6
- Latin America and the Caribbean: 8
- Western Europe and others: 7
The Washington Times has an good rundown of the final results.
