Belarus fails to win seat on UN rights body

UNITED NATIONS, May 17 (Reuters) Belarus, described by Washington as Europe's last dictatorship, failed today in its effort to win a seat on the UN Human Rights Council after Western nations backed a rival campaign by Bosnia.

After two rounds of voting by the UN General Assembly, two vacant Eastern European seats on the 47-nation council, the world body's principal rights watchdog, went to Slovenia and Bosnia, both former Yugoslav republics.

The result was a victory for Western countries that had persuaded Bosnia to seek a seat at the last minute in hopes of shutting out ex-Soviet Belarus, which otherwise would have had an uncontested ride into the council along with Slovenia.

''I was particularly heartened by the election of Bosnia,'' said US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, current president of the Security Council, adding that he had been ''particularly concerned'' by the prospect of Belarus being chosen. ''This was the right decision,'' he told reporters.

In the only other contested part of the election -- for two vacant West European seats -- the Netherlands and Italy went through at the expense of Denmark.

Uncontested elections for African, Asian and Latin American seats gave places on the council to Angola, Bolivia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Philippines, Qatar and South Africa. The remaining seats on the council are not up for election this year.

Reuters PB DB2329