China re-elected to the United Nations Economic and Social Council

China re-elected to the United Nations Economic and Social Council

2010-10-26 08:23:57 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- China on Monday was re-elected to one of the six main United Nations bodies, the UN Economic and Social Council, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The UN Economic and Social Council is in charge of coordinating the economic, social and related work of the United Nations and its specialized agencies and institutions, the UN family organizations.

China was elected again to the UN body with 150 votes in favor from the UN member states at the voting held at the General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York City. China has been a member of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 1972.

In addition to China, the UN General assembly elected seventeen other members to the ECOSOC. The selected countries were Australia, Cameroon, Finland, Gabon, Mexico, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, Senegal, Spain and Switzerland.

ECOSOC has 54 members that serve for three-year terms. Election to the UN body has to be made by majority and the election procedures follow the General Assembly's Rules of Procedure.

Election requires a two-thirds majority and the largest number of votes. Membership can be renewed immediately after expiration of the three-year term.

ECOSOC was established under the United Nations Charter as the principal organ to coordinate economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions.

The UN agency serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system.

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