The World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Tuesday welcomed the election of Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon to the chair the United Nations Sixth Committee, which deals with legal issues and terrorism, amongst other things.
It was the first time Israel was elected for the presidency of a permanent UN committee. Ahead of the secret ballot of all UN member states, the WJC had sent letters to the UN ambassadors of 64 countries, urging them to support Israel’s candidacy.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder called the vote in the UN General Assembly “a significant victory for Israel and a glimmer of hope.” Two weeks ago, Lauder spoke at a conference at the United Nations in New York where he scolded the world body for constantly singling out Israel.
WJC CEO Robert Singer said: “Yesterday’s vote shows that things can be done to improve Israel’s standing at the UN. It is critical that we continue to work with countries to help make the United Nations a fairer and more effective organization. I congratulate Ambassador Danny Danon on this historic achievement and on his election. I know he will discharge this duty with competence.”
Israel was nominated for Sixth Committee presidency by the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) of UN member states, which includes European and North American countries.
The WJC sent letters to the permanent representatives of the following UN member states: Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, the Comoros, Costa Rica, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, India, the Ivory Coast, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mauritius, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Nicaragua, Namibia, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, São Tomé & Principe, Senegal, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Zambia.
Danon said in a post on Facebook that Iran, the Palestinians and several anti-Israel nations tried to stop the appointment. He thanked the countries that “stood beside Israel” in the historic vote. He received 109 out of 175 votes in the General Assembly.
