UNITED NATIONS, Nov 8 (KUNA) -- The General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly elected Kuwait as member of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the period 2013-2015, in recognition of its contribution to global development.
The Assembly elected a total of 18 countries to the 54-member body to serve overlapping three-year terms beginning January 1st 2013.
Kuwait was elected along with Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Nepal to represent Asia. It ranked first among its Asian fellow candidates as it won 180 votes, the highest in the group.
Five Asian States ran for the four seats to be vacated on December 31st of this year by Iraq, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Mongolia. Saudi Arabia was not elected because it got the least votes.
The other elected members are the US, San Marino, Netherlands and Canada for Western Europe and other states; Benin, Mauritius, Tunisia, South Africa and Sudan for Africa; Croatia and Albania for Eastern European group; Bolivia, Colombia, and Haiti for the Latin American group.
Kuwait, Tunisia and Sudan will join two other Arab countries already in the ECOSOC: Qatar and Libya whose terms end in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Kuwait's election at ECOSOC comes as a result of its intensive efforts in the diplomatic arena, which won it a membership at the UN Human Rights Council last year.
Over the last several weeks, Kuwait's permanent delegate to the UN Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi had showcased to his counterparts of various regional groups Kuwait's activities in the development field around the world, as well as its volunteering contribution to many specialized UN funds, and what Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) had provided over the last five decades grants, aid and soft loans of over USD 18 billion for more than 100 developing countries to help them attain long-lasting development.
Kuwait has acquired economic and social councils' membership twice since it joined the UN in 1963, in which it was first elected in the 1967-1967 term, and once again in the 1992-1994 term.
The world's economic, social and environmental challenges are ECOSOC's concern. A founding UN Charter body established in 1946, the Council is the place where such issues are discussed and debated, and policy recommendations issued.
As such, ECOSOC has broad responsibility for some 70 percent of the human and financial resources of the entire UN system, including 14 specialized agencies, 9 "functional" commissions, and five regional commissions. (end) sj.ma KUNA 082326 Nov 12NNNN