US re-elected to 3 more years on UN Human Rights Council
Germany and Ireland also earn seats in the Western group of the 47-member council
The United States has been re-elected to another three-year term on the UN Human Rights Council in the only contested election for seats in the body.
The US was competing with four other countries for three open seats belonging to the Western group on the council. Germany and Ireland were also elected by the 193-member General Assembly. Greece and Sweden lost out.
The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said her country was "pleased and proud to have been re-elected to a second three-year term".
"I'm proud to say that, today, the Obama administration's leadership of the Human Rights Council has delivered real results. Today's vote affirms that active US leadership in the Human Rights Council and throughout the United Nations system will continue to pay real dividends for Americans and for the rest of the world," Rice said.
German UN ambassador Peter Wittig also praised the vote, and thanked member states for their support.
African, Asian, Eastern European and Latin American countries put forward uncontested slates, meaning candidates were virtually certain of winning one of the 18 open seats up for grabs on the 47-member council.
Also among those elected on Monday were Argentina, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Montenegro, Pakistan, South Korea, Sierra Leone and the United Arab Emirates. They begin three-year terms on January. 1, 2013.
