PARIS, FRANCE.-The 191 Member States of UNESCO, assembled for the 33rd session of the General Conference, UNESCO’s supreme ruling body, today elected 29 new representatives to the 58-member Executive Board, the other governing body of the Organization, in one round of voting. Candidates for election are divided into five electoral groups. The following States were elected today (in descending order of votes obtained):

Group I – Norway, Portugal, Luxembourg, United Kingdom; Group II – Lithuania, Serbia and Montenegro, Azerbaijan; Group III – Bahamas, Colombia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Brazil, Mexico; Group IV – China, Japan, Thailand, India, Fiji, Nepal; Group Va – South Africa, Ethiopia, Benin, Nigeria, Togo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda; Group Vb – Egypt, Lebanon, Algeria.

The members of the Executive Board are elected for four years. The candidates elected today join the 29 other Member States, elected to the Board at the last session of the General Conference (2003), whose term expires in 2007: Canada, France, Italy, Switzerland, United States of America (Group I); Czech Republic, Hungary, Russian Federation, Slovenia (Group II); Ecuador, Guatemala, Uruguay, Venezuela (Group III); Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka (Group IV); Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia (Group Va); Bahrain, Morocco, Yemen (Group Vb).

The Executive Board meets twice a year to examine the implementation of programmes adopted by the General Conference. The new Executive Board will meet after the 33rd session of the General Conference on October 24 to elect its Bureau, including the chairperson, vice-chairs, and chairpersons of commissions and committees.