Bosnia and Herzegovina gained seat in UN Human Rights Council

18.05.2007.

Belarus hasn’t won enough votes to be elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Bosnia joined Belarus and Slovenia in contesting the two vacant East European council seats.

After two rounds of voting in the UN General Assembly two vacant seats in the Council were occupied by Slovenia and Bosnia.

“It’s a very important signal the countries sent to the world by not supporting Belarus, that human rights violators cannot be members of the Council. Opposition is cracked down in Belarus, freedom of speech doesn’t exist, and presidential election was not free at all,” told the representative of Human Rights Watch to RIA Novosti.

US permanent representative Zalmai Halilzad noted that elections have demonstrated an impressive progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina which in the eyes of world community is more attractive than Belarus.

“I want to express gratitude to my colleagues for choosing not in favour of Belarus which is called the last dictatorship of Europe,” Mr. Halilzad said.

Comments of Belarusian mission in the UN are unavailable still.

The voting in the UN has finished. The countries elected were Angola, Bolivia, Bosnia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Italy, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Qatar, Slovenia and South Africa.

Source: www.charter97.org