Cuba on new UN council
published: Friday | June 23, 2006

GENEVA (THE NATION):

Cuba yesterday welcomed the opening of the new United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, praising its own election as a founding member of the 47-nation body and the exclusion of the United States, which declined to stand as a candidate.

Cuba - which has been criticised by the United States and rights groups for its record - said its victory in the May election was a reward for its humanitarian work, including work by its doctors in 70 other countries and free surgery by Cuban eye specialists for patients from elsewhere in the Caribbean and Latin America.