U.S. loses seat on U.N. Human Rights Commission
Agence France Press

UNITED NATIONS, May 3
(May 3, 2001 1:56 p.m. EDT) - In a surprise vote by members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council Thursday, the United States was voted off the U.N. Human Rights Commission, losing the seat which it had held since 1947.

The United States polled last among four candidates for three seats in its regional group in a ballot of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is responsible for the Geneva-based commission.

"We are disappointed at the outcome," the acting US ambassador to the United Nations, James Cunningham, told reporters.

"It won't of course affect our commitment to human rights issues, in andoutside of the United Nations."

About one third of the commission's 53 members are elected each year forthree-year terms.

All but one of the 54 members of ECOSOC took part in the vote, and France obtained 52 votes, Austria received 41, Sweden 32 and the United States 29.

The four were competing for three seats in the group representing Western European and associated countries.

"There was an election between a number of solid candidates. We had too many candidates for too few seats," Cunningham said. "I don't want to speculate on what may have been the motives underlying the outcome of the election."

In balloting for three Asian seats, Bahrain obtained 45 votes, South Korea 42 and Pakistan 38. Iran was unsuccessful, receiving only 26 votes.

Croatia and Armenia were elected for the Eastern European group, while Azerbaijan was defeated.

Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and Uganda were elected unopposed to four African seats, and Chile and Mexico were elected unopposed for Latin America.

One West European diplomat said the US defeat was "a surprise, given their arm-twisting power."

She noted that the United States is a member of ECOSOC and holds one of the five permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council.

The diplomat speculated that positions taken recently by the Bush administration on climate change and on nuclear missile defence might have "added to the resentment against the US that is always under the surface."

The U.S has been a member of the U.N. Human Rights Commission every year since the 53-nation forum was established in 1947. The only other two nations to have also had uninterrupted membership for the same period are Russia and India, Jose Luis Diaz spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva said.

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