CROATIA ADMITTED TO TWO UN COMMISSIONS

NEW YORK, May 3 (Hina) - Croatia was admitted to two important United Nations commissions, on human rights and sustainable development, by a majority vote on Thursday. Croatia was admitted to the Economic and Social Council's Commission on Human Rights with 38 votes of 53 countries which voted. Armenia was admitted with 30 votes in favour. Latvia and Azerbaijan completed the competition. In the voting for representatives of Western countries, the United States lost to France, Austria, and Sweden. Hina has learnt among diplomatic sources in New York that the U.S. plans were thwarted by Cuba which advocated the admission of Sweden, especially among the non-aligned countries. The new make-up of the Commission on Human Rights also includes Bahrain, Chile, South Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda. The voting for the new members of the Commission on Sustainable Development was not uncertain as countries had agreed in advance as to which candidates they would support. Croatia and Azerbaijan were admitted based on such an agreement. Croatia's permanent representative to the UN Ivan Simonovic is this year's first vice president of the ECOSOC. He will assume presidency over the organisation's second most important body next year. (hina) ha sb