India elected to Committee against racial discrimination

New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) India was today elected to the Committee for Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) at the elections held in New York, surpassing countries including the United States, China and the Russian Federation.

Mr Dilip Lahiri, a retired official of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), who has served as India's Ambassador to France, Spain, Peru, Bolivia and Andorra, was elected by the 22nd Meeting of the State Parties to the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial discrimination, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman said here.

Eleven candidates were in the fray for the nine available seats on the Committee.

Out of 173 States Parties to the Convention, 165 Member States cast valid ballots, with 83 votes needed to win.

India obtained 152 votes followed by Guatemala (144), Russian Federation (143), Burkina Faso (143), United States (143), China (139), Romania (133), Tanzania (131) and Colombia (130).

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