BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/05/2007

Human Rights Organization Applauds Belarus Rejection

Richard Bowden - AHN Staff Writer

New York, NY (AHN) - Watchdog NGO organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has applauded the decision by the U.N. to exclude Belarus from a seat on the U.N.'s Human Rights Council on Thursday.

Belarus, sometimes called Europe's last dictatorship, failed to gain one of the 14 vacant seats on the 47-seat Council in a decisive vote on Thursday.

The two seats available to Eastern Europe were taken up by Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director for Human Rights Watch said, "Voting 'no' to Belarus sends the message that abusive governments have no place on the U.N. Human Rights Council. This election shone a spotlight on Belarus' appalling human rights record, and should deter other such countries from running for the Human Rights Council in the future," she said.

Bosnian Ambassador Milos Prica said his country's election was "a huge achievement, especially for Bosnia Herzegovina. It's an opportunity for our country to share lessons learned through what we have passed."

However another human rights group U.N. Watch also criticized the election of Angola, Egypt and Qatar for the council citing their poor human rights record.

Source:

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007389460