UNITED NATIONS: Saudi Arabia Wednesday secured a seat on the board of a new United Nations women's agency. Headed by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, UN Women is the merger of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI), and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. The elections, held in the 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), will enable the new board to come together prior to the official establishment on Jan. 1, 2011 of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). Regional representation rules required the 41-member board to have representatives from 10 from Africa, 10 from Asia, four from Eastern Europe, six from Latin America and the Caribbean, five from Western Europe and six from contributing countries. Elected from the African Group were Angola, Cape Verde, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Libya, Nigeria and Tanzania. Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Republic of Korea and Timor-Leste were elected from among the Asian states. Estonia, Hungary, Russia and Ukraine were elected from among the Eastern European states, while Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Sweden were elected from the Western European and other states. The Council also elected Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada and Peru from the group of Latin American and Caribbean States. The Council elected Mexico, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, United Kingdom and United States from among the “contributing countries,” for three-year terms. Meanwhile, Iran suffered a humiliating defeat in its bid to secure a seat on the board after the United States and its allies campaigned against the Islamic Republic. The UN body will aim to help member states implement standards, provide technical and financial support to countries which request it, and forge partnerships with civil society.
