Israel was chosen by the UN General Assembly on Friday to serve on a working group that will help organize a disarmament conference next year, its first election to a UN post since 1961.
David Govrin, a counselor at Israel's UN mission, was chosen by consensus of the 191-member assembly as one of three vice presidents for the group, presided over by Indonesia.
Most posts in the assembly are selected through regional groups. Until May 2000, Israel was the only UN member barred from any of the organization's five regional groupings, mainly due to a boycott by Islamic nations.
In May 2000, Israel, with strong backing from the United States, was allowed to join the "Western European and Others Group," which this week nominated it to the disarmament conference post.
According to Reuters, the assembly had decided to organize a special session on disarmament in March, its fourth to date. The working group is to arrange an agenda and other details for the session.
"Today's vote signals Israel's desire to deepen its membership and involvement at the United Nations," said Arye Mekel, Israel's deputy representative, in a statement.
He said the election marked an "important step" in ending Israel's isolation as the only UN member excluded from "actively participating in a UN election process as a full and equal member." (Albawaba.com)
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