Sudan assured seat on U.N. human rights watchdog

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS, May 4 (Reuters) – African nations have ensured that Sudan gets a seat on the chief U.N. human rights watchdog and angered rights groups who want more liberal democracies to win a place.

Fourteen vacant seats will be filled on Tuesday and on Wednesday for the 53-nation U.N. Human Rights Commission. Many have been decided by regional groups before the voting in the Economic and Social Council in New York.

Sudan has been the target of worldwide criticism, including an expression of concern from the Geneva-based commission in late April. It has been accused of backing Arab militia destroying villages, raping and killing black Africans in the Darfur region.

“A government that engages in wholesale abuses of its citizens should not be eligible for a seat at the table, especially a country just criticized by the commission,” said Joanna Weschler, U.N. delegate for Human Rights Watch, one of 10 advocacy groups that issued a protest statement.

“This is a major credibility test of the regional bloc structure at the United Nations in terms of how it nominates candidates for key U.N. posts,” Weschler said.

In the African regional group, which rotates candidacies for commission posts, Sudan, Guinea and Togo — all called undemocratic by the rights groups — will be filling seats on the commission. A fourth will go to Kenya.

In Asia, Vietnam and Pakistan, which the rights groups say have questionable records, are vying for seats and at least one will be elected. South Korea and Malaysia are also up for the three available slots.

“Vietnam in particular is in the midst of a violent crackdown against the country’s indigenous Montagnard people,” said Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor.

In other elections, Mexico and Ecuador face no opposition among the Latin American group. Armenia and Romania will be assured seats among Eastern Europeans.

But Western nations have a contested election with Canada, Finland, France and Spain vying for three seats. The United States, part of this group, has a seat on the commission and is not up for re-election until next year.