Eighteen States elected to UN Economic and Social Council

The United Nations General Assembly today elected 18 States to serve as members of the UN Economic and Social Council for a three-year term starting on 1 January 2002.

Those elected to serve on the 54-member body were Australia, Bhutan, Burundi, Chile, China, El Salvador, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Libya, Qatar, Russian Federation, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.

In a by-election, the Assembly elected Spain to take over Portugal's Council seat for 2002.

The Economic and Social Council, one of the UN's six principal organs, serves to coordinate the economic, social and related work of the UN and its specialized agencies and institutions.