In what may be termed as a not so good news for Pakistan, the country has failed to win a re-election to the top UN human rights body, garnering just 105 votes in the 193-member General Assembly.
The General Assembly on Wednesday elected 18 members of the UN Human Rights Council through a secret ballot.
Pakistan’s current term at the council is set to expire on December 31 and it was seeking re-election to the 47-member Human Rights Council.
Sources said the loss came as a setback to the Pakistani delegation that had appeared confident of winning the seat.
The sources attributed the loss to the way the Pakistani delegation fought the election, adding that it could not lobby effectively for the vote.
The new members, who will start their three-year terms beginning January 1 next year, are Belgium, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany, Kenya, Panama, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Togo, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.
Pakistan lost the seat in the Asia-Pacific category in which five seats were vacant.
India is also a member of the council and its term will end in 2017.
Members of the council are elected directly and individually by secret ballot by the majority of the members of the General Assembly.
Geneva-based non-governmental human rights group UN Watch welcomed the defeat of Pakistan, terming it as a “major surprise.”
(With inputs from agencies)