Cuba on Tuesday secured a seat on the new U.N. Human Rights Council, which replaced an agency where abusers were often members, obtaining the seventh spot out of eight reserved for Latin American and Caribbean nations.Cuba's candidacy was viewed as a test case for the seriousness of the new Council. Other nations with questionable rights records that were elected at a U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York included Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.
But General Assembly President Jan Eliasson, who oversaw the negotiations that created the new council, downplayed the election of some nations accused of rights abuses, saying it was nonetheless a ''truly historic occasion'' and a ''new departure'' for human rights work worldwide.
Venezuela failed to obtain a spot on the 47-member body, which will start its sessions June 19 amidst expectations that it will mark a departure from its discredited and defunct predecessor, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
The other Latin American nations that secured seats, in the order of votes obtained, are Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Uruguay and Ecuador. Brazil, the top vote-getter in the group, garnered 165 votes. Cuba obtained 135 votes.
Nations needed at least 96 of the 191 General Assembly votes to get elected.