Controversy over new UN rights body
Wednesday, 10 May 2006 11:59Elections to a new United Nations human rights body have produced controversial results, with some countries which have been accused of human rights abuses winning seats.
Cuba, China and Saudi Arabia have all been elected to the new UN Human Rights Council, as have Pakistan and Russia.
The 47 members of the council were elected by the UN General Assembly in New York last night.
The elections were carried out on a regionalised basis.
European nations which won seats were Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK.
The full list of other members elected is: Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada,
China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, Zambia.
The new body takes the place of the UN Human Rights Commission, which fell into disrepute because it included countries with poor human rights records.
