United Nations -- Under pressure from fellow UN member states, Syria dropped plans to run for a seat on the top UN human rights body and allowed Kuwait to replace it as a candidate, UN diplomats said on Tuesday. Several UN diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Kuwait had confirmed to Western officials that it would enter the race for a spot on the 47-nation Human Rights Council in the Asian category. They said that Syria planned to drop out of the race for four spots available to Asian countries. Other candidates in the category are India, Indonesia and the Philippines. There was no immediate confirmation from Syrian officials. One diplomat told Reuters that an "Asian group meeting will have to be called to confirm these changes." Another Western diplomat told Reuters that Syria's withdrawal and Kuwait's candidacy is "great news." The 192-nation UN General Assembly will hold its annual elections for one third of the seats on the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on 20 May. The council is the main UN body charged with monitoring member states' compliance with international human rights norms. Critics say it spends too much time bashing Israel while ignoring violations by countries like Sri Lanka, Bahrain, China, Russia and others. The original slate of Syria, India, Indonesia and the Philippines had been endorsed by Asia's UN voting group and the Arab League. But Syria's violent crackdown against anti-government protesters prompted some Western, Arab and Asian UN member states to suggest that Damascus should not be on the rights body when it was facing accusations of gross violations, Western envoys said. "It is not really the time for Syria to become a member of the council of human rights," French UN Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters on Monday. The United States under President George W. Bush had shunned the rights council, considering it a tool of anti-Israeli forces at the United Nations. President Barack Obama reversed that policy two years ago, saying the United States could improve the rights council from within. The United States ran for and secured a seat. Had Syria won a seat on the council, it would have followed other states accused of human rights abuses by rights watchdog groups including China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Muammar Qadhafi's Libya is a member of the rights council, but the General Assembly suspended its membership rights in response to its violent crackdown this year against anti-government demonstrators that sparked a civil war.
