* Rwanda says ‘baseless’ report won’t harm bid
* Race for Asia-Pacific seat too close to call
By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Rwanda appears likely to
win one of five U.N. Security Council seats up for election on
Thursday, despite accusations by a U.N. expert panel that the
country’s defense minister is commanding a rebellion in
neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwanda is unopposed in its bid for the African seat on the
Security Council, which is currently held by South Africa, but
it still needs to be approved by two-thirds of the U.N. General
Assembly members present to secure a two-year term.
U.N. diplomats said it was theoretically possible that
Rwanda would fail to secure the necessary votes for election,
although they said that was highly unlikely.
The confidential U.N. report, seen by Reuters on Tuesday,
has cast a shadow over the East African country’s plan to join
the 15-member U.N. powerhouse – which has the ability to impose
sanctions and authorize military interventions.
There are five veto-holding permanent members of the council
– the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – and 10
temporary members without vetoes. Thursday’s election is for the
term from Jan. 1, 2013, to Dec. 31, 2014.
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