Cuba wins seat on U.N. Human Rights Council

Posted on Tue, May. 09, 2006

Cuba wins seat on U.N. Human Rights Council
By PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com

WASHINGTON - Cuba on Tuesday secured a seat on the new U.N. Human Rights
Council, which replaced an agency where abusers were often members,
obtaining the seventh spot out of eight reserved for Latin American and
Caribbean nations.

Cuba's candidacy was viewed as a test case for the seriousness of the
new Council. Other nations with questionable rights records that were
elected at a U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York included Russia,
China and Saudi Arabia.

But General Assembly President Jan Eliasson, who oversaw the
negotiations that created the new council, downplayed the election of
some nations accused of rights abuses, saying it was nonetheless a
''truly historic occasion'' and a ''new departure'' for human rights
work worldwide.

Venezuela failed to obtain a spot on the 47-member body, which will
start its sessions June 19 amidst expectations that it will mark a
departure from its discredited and defunct predecessor, the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights.

The other Latin American nations that secured seats, in the order of
votes obtained, are Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Uruguay
and Ecuador. Brazil, the top vote-getter in the group, garnered 165
votes. Cuba obtained 135 votes.

Nations needed at least 96 of the 191 General Assembly votes to get elected.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/14537766.htm