U.S. ELECTED TO HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000496

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM AORC UNGA PREL
SUBJECT: U.S. ELECTED TO HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The United States won election to the UN
Human Rights Council on May 12 with 167 votes cast in our
favor during secret balloting, with a vote count that was
among the highest the United States has ever received in a
vote in the General Assembly. Also elected by the General
Assembly were Bangladesh, Belgium, Cameroon, China, Cuba,
Djibouti, Hungary, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Mexico,
Nigeria, Norway, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
and Uruguay. Of the two competitive slates, Azerbaijan
failed to reach enough votes for election within the Eastern
European States Group, and Kenya did not win election within
the African States Group. END SUMMARY.


2. The 63rd Session of the General Assembly in plenary
elected 18 States to serve on the United Nations Human Rights
Council in accordance with Assembly resolution 60/251 (April
2006) establishing the 47-member Council as the United
Nations principal human rights body. Five of those elected
will be sitting on the Geneva-based body for the first time:
the United States, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Belgium, and Norway.
The other states were re-elected. The terms of office for
all newly elected members will begin on June 19, 2009. WEOG
holds the next presidency, although that president has not
yet been chosen.


3. (SBU) The results of the only round of voting were as
follows:

a) Among the African States to fill 5 seats, there were 191
valid ballots cast: Senegal (165),Mauritius (162),Nigeria
(148),Cameroon (142),and Djibouti (141) were elected.
Kenya (133),a latecomer to the election, disrupted an
African sub-regional rotation agreement to run a clean slate
and probably lost by a critical margin as a result.
b) Among the Asian States to fill 5 seats, there were 189
valid ballots cast: Jordan (178),Kyrgyzstan (174),
Bangladesh (171),China (167),and Saudi Arabia (154) were
elected. Malaysia drew 2 write-in votes.
c) Among the Eastern European States to fill 2 seats, there
were 190 valid ballots cast: Russian Federation (146) and
Hungary (131) were elected. Azerbaijan (81) was rebuffed in
its request for another term despite presumed support of the
Non-Aligned Movement and the OIC. Hungary mounted a strong
campaign and won handily over Azerbaijan.
d) Among the Latin American and Caribbean States (GRULAC) to
fill 3 seats, there were 187 valid ballots cast: Mexico
(175),Uruguay (173),and Cuba (163) were elected.
e) Among the Western European and other States Group (WEOG)
to fill 3 seats, there were 185 valid ballots cast: Norway
(179),Belgium (177),and the United States (167) were
elected. Switzerland drew 2 write-in votes; Greece and New
Zealand each drew 1. Although it announced its candidature
late in the election cycle, the United States nonetheless
drew 90% of the ballots and in absolute numbers outpaced
Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba, among others.


4. (SBU) The U.S. conducted a short, vigorous campaign to
exceed the required 97 votes. The other two candidates in
the WEOG campaigned for significantly longer, likely
contributing to the marginally higher vote count for each.
Unlike the United States, both Norway and Belgium enter into
reciprocal support arrangements with other candidates to UN
elected bodies. The U.S. vote count was among the highest we
have ever received in an election in the General Assembly
(90% of eligible votes). The number of votes we earned
closely tracked promises of support received in recent weeks
from Member States in New York and in capitals, which
positively differed from our experience in some other UNGA
elections in which the number of actual votes was less than
prior commitments.
Rice