8 Latin American countries elected into new UN human rights council
Eight Latin American nations were elected on Tuesday into the newly-formed UN Human Rights Council, a body designed to draw as much attention to human rights as to security within the world body, reports reaching here said.

The eight countries elected are Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.

Election is by secret ballot and candidates must win the votes of at least 96 nations, an absolute majority of the UN General Assembly's 191 members, to be elected.

Venezuela and Nicaragua failed to win enough votes to qualify for a seat.

The council has 13 seats for Africa, 13 for Asia, six for Eastern Europe, eight for Latin America and Caribbean, seven for Western Europe and other developed nations.

After three rounds of voting, the UN General Assembly elected the 47 members of the newly established Human Rights Council to replace the much criticized and now defunct Human Rights Commission.

In a statement issued after the election, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said "This demonstrates a widely shared commitment to replace the previous Commission on Human Rights with a body that can work more effectively, and can embody human rights ideals with more credibility."

He said the new council, which will start work on June 19, is required to conduct a regular review of the human rights record of all countries, beginning with its own members.

"This will give its members the chance to show the depth of their commitment to promote human rights both at home and abroad,"he said.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said he was very happy with the results of the votes. "With our tragic history of massive and systematic human rights violations, we will value the commitment we have made in this matter," he said.

"Since the beginning of the UN reform proposals, we have always supported lifting human rights in the hierarchy... so that they have the same importance as preserving international peace and security," he added.

The council will meet at least 10 weeks each year. Members will be subject to periodic review of their human rights record, and the council's membership can be suspended if two-thirds of the United Nations General Assembly vote that it has not met minimum human rights standards.