Equatorial Guinea elected to UN security council

Equatorial Guinea has for the first time been elected to the UN Security Council during a vote that saw Ivory Coast, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru and Poland also win seats at the
top world table.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch said it had concerns about Equatorial Guinea's presence on the council, as it had "a long history of harassing, arbitrarily detaining and interfering with the work of human rights defenders".

The oil-rich state, ruled by Teodoro Obiang Nguema for almost 40 years, was elected unopposed as an African representative on the council.

The Security Council is made up of 10 non-permanent members elected to two-year terms and five permanent powers: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

The elected countries - all of which were put forward by their regional grouping - will begin their term on January 1.