The Guardian 17 May, 2006
Cuba elected to 2006 UN Human Rights Council
In the face of strong US opposition, Cuba has been elected to the new UN Human Rights Council. This UN body has a membership of 47 countries and each country need 96 votes to be elected. Cuba received 135 votes.
The US did not stand for election possibly because it anticipated that it would not be elected following the disclosure of torture by US military forces in Abu Ghraib jail, the continued existence of Guantánamo and other bad reports that have sullied the standing of the US.
The US had been a member of the old Human Rights commission since the body’s formation in 1946, except for one year, 2002, when European nations did not support the US because of the Bush administration’s opposition to the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
Other nations elected in a secret ballot include Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Britain, China, Canada, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, South Africa and South Korea.
Iran and Venezuela were not elected.
While declaring its qualified support for the Human Rights body the US continues to take a "holier-than-thou" attitude. "There are some members in our view that don’t share a genuine commitment to human rights", said a US spokesperson.