AGL 38.15 Decreased By ▼ -1.43 (-3.61%)
AIRLINK 125.07 Decreased By ▼ -6.15 (-4.69%)
BOP 6.85 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.59%)
CNERGY 4.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-5.52%)
DCL 7.91 Decreased By ▼ -0.53 (-6.28%)
DFML 37.34 Decreased By ▼ -4.13 (-9.96%)
DGKC 77.77 Decreased By ▼ -4.32 (-5.26%)
FCCL 30.58 Decreased By ▼ -2.52 (-7.61%)
FFBL 68.86 Decreased By ▼ -4.01 (-5.5%)
FFL 11.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-3.26%)
HUBC 104.50 Decreased By ▼ -6.24 (-5.63%)
HUMNL 13.49 Decreased By ▼ -1.02 (-7.03%)
KEL 4.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.54 (-10.4%)
KOSM 7.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.44 (-5.78%)
MLCF 36.44 Decreased By ▼ -2.46 (-6.32%)
NBP 65.92 Increased By ▲ 1.91 (2.98%)
OGDC 179.53 Decreased By ▼ -13.29 (-6.89%)
PAEL 24.43 Decreased By ▼ -1.25 (-4.87%)
PIBTL 7.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-2.59%)
PPL 143.70 Decreased By ▼ -10.37 (-6.73%)
PRL 24.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.51 (-5.85%)
PTC 16.40 Decreased By ▼ -1.41 (-7.92%)
SEARL 78.57 Decreased By ▼ -3.73 (-4.53%)
TELE 7.22 Decreased By ▼ -0.54 (-6.96%)
TOMCL 31.97 Decreased By ▼ -1.49 (-4.45%)
TPLP 8.13 Decreased By ▼ -0.36 (-4.24%)
TREET 16.13 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-2.95%)
TRG 54.66 Decreased By ▼ -2.74 (-4.77%)
UNITY 27.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.29 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-5.84%)
BR100 10,089 Decreased By -415.2 (-3.95%)
BR30 29,509 Decreased By -1717.6 (-5.5%)
KSE100 94,574 Decreased By -3505.6 (-3.57%)
KSE30 29,445 Decreased By -1113.9 (-3.65%)

Libya, Vietnam, Croatia, Costa Rica and Burkina Faso were elected to non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2008-09 on Tuesday. In the voting for African and Asian seats, Libya, Vietnam and Burkina Faso were unopposed from the start and obtained the required two-thirds majority of votes in favour on the first ballot by the 192-member UN General Assembly.
In contested races for single seats for Eastern Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, Croatia and Costa Rica squared off against the Czech Republic and the Dominican Republic respectively. But they were voted in after their rivals faded in the second ballot and pulled out. Winners will take seats on the 15-member council on January 1 for a two-year period. Non-permanent members have no veto.
Libya's election to the council is another big step in its journey back to international respectability after years in which the West accused it of sponsoring terrorism.
But human rights groups that call Libya and Vietnam undemocratic have already expressed dismay at the prospect of them sitting on the council, which can dispatch peacekeeping forces or impose sanctions.
The contest between Croatia, a former Yugoslav republic never on the council before, and the Czech Republic, which served from 1994-95, was expected to be close. Both campaigned hard and Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and his Czech counterpart Mirek Topolanek held separate eve-of-the-vote meetings on Monday with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Costa Rica, by contrast, quickly took a strong lead over the Dominican Republic. Costa Rica has sat on the council twice before, while the Dominican Republic never has.
Dominican officials said Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso had held more than 45 bilateral meetings with other UN delegations to seek support. But Costa Rica also waged a vigorous campaign,
The withdrawal of the Czech Republic and Dominican Republic drew applause from the assembly mixed with relief that there would be no repeat of last year's Latin American epic between Venezuela and US-backed Guatemala.
Then, 47 rounds of balloting failed to give the required two-thirds majority. After three weeks, both withdrew and Panama was elected as a compromise candidate.
Countries that will leave the Security Council on December 31 are Congo Republic, Ghana, Peru, Qatar and Slovakia. Remaining on it are Belgium, Indonesia, Italy, Panama and South Africa, along with the veto-holding permanent members the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China.

Copyright Reuters, 2007

Comments

Comments are closed.