Record Number of Islamic Nations, Fewer ‘Free’ Countries, Coming to U.N. Human Rights Council

Thursday, May 06, 2010
By Patrick Goodenough
International Editor

(CNSNews.com) – Next week’s election for new members of the U.N. Human Rights Council is expected to result in a greater share of seats going to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) than ever before, while the number of countries deemed “free” falls to a new low.

Barring any surprises, the Islamic bloc will emerge from the May 13 election in control of 18 of the total 47 seats, the highest number since the Geneva-based body was formed in 2006 as part of a broader initiative aimed at reforming the U.N.

Surprises are unlikely, since the five U.N. regional groups all have closed slates of candidates, meaning that with one week to go, there is no competition. the rest