Belarus Headlines

Belarus, one of the world's most repressive states, was blocked Thursday from gaining membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council after being outvoted in favor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a late entry. Human rights groups had been campaigning for weeks to head off the once seemingly assured choice of Belarus after the Eastern European group submitted only Belarus and Slovenia as candidates for the two seats from its region. Western countries persuaded Bosnia to enter last week and then lobbied General Assembly members vigorously as the only way to reject the bid by Belarus. In the first round of voting, Slovenia won handily. Bosnia came in second and Belarus third, setting up an immediate runoff that then secured Bosnia's position. Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador, hailed the outcome as "heartening." He said, "Some have called Belarus the last dictatorship of Europe." The decision avoided what would have been a serious embarrassment for the rights council, which in the past has inspired scorn for permitting countries like Cuba and Libya as members.