By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 12, updated -- Among
the UN
system's five
regional
groups, only
two had any
competition in
the election
of their
members this
morning to the
UN Human
Rights
Council.
In the African
Group, South
Sudan lost
with 89 votes.
Elected were
South Africa
with 169,
Algeria with
164, Morocco
with 163 and
Namibia with
150. (Tunisia
got two
votes.)
UN result
sheet put
online here.
In the Latin
American and
Caribbean
Group, Uruguay
lost with 93
votes. Elected
were Cuba with
148 and Mexico
with 135.
The
Asian /
Pacific Group
was going to
have
competition,
before Jordan
dropped out.
Still, Jordan
got 16 votes;
Saudi Arabia
got 140, less
than the
Maldives' 164.
From Eastern
Europe, two
candidates for
two seats:
Russia and the
Former Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia.
(Slovakia and
Latvia each
got one vote.)
The West
European and
Other Group,
which talks a
lot about
democracy and
against "clean
slates," had a
clean slate:
two
candidates,
the UK and
France, for
two seats.
Still, France
got only 174,
and UK 171.
Stray votes
went to
Andorra,
Greece, Luxembourg,
Portugal and
San Marino.
During the
voting Inner
City Press
took and
tweeted photographs,
of gifts
and, for
example, Sri
Lankan
military
figure Shavendra
Silva in
the crowd.
UK Ambassador
Mark
Lyall Grant
conferred with
Liechtenstein's
representative,
then
with Rwanda's.
Our next story
is about the
International
Criminal Court
and Kenya.
On
Monday late
afternoon,
after
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
speech to
member states
in the
Trusteeship
Council
Chamber, South
Sudan's
Permanent
Representative
Francis Deng,
himself a
former UN
official, was
seen heading
to the
Delegates
Lounge in
late-minute
campaigning.
It's a young
country.
Also
campaigning
was a Togolese
diplomat
running for
the
International
Criminal
Tribunal for
the Former
Yugoslavia,
Koffi Kumelio
A. Afande. The
Permanent
Representative
from another
African
country told
Inner City
Press, it's a
competitive
race, and some
"Europeans try
to undermine
African
candidates for
the ICTY."
Down
in the UN
lobby, Morocco
had arranged
to have a
display in
support of its
candidacy. In
the General
Assembly last
week, it
defended the
exclusion of
the Frente
Polisario from
the Security
Council
stakeout,
saying this is
only for
member states.
(The UN told
Inner City
Press it is
only for
"participants"
in Security
Council
meetings, a
different
standard.)
In
essence, only
two countries
will be left
exposed as
"losers"
Tuesday
morning. (This
is
prevalent at
all levels of
the UN, locking in
the lack of
reform.)
But to compete
and lose is
one thing --
to through
weight around,
as is WEOG, is
something
else. Watch
this site.
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