Regional groups

For 52 years Israel has been the only UN member excluded from a regional group. Geographically, it belongs in the Asian Group; however, the Arab states have barred its membership. Without membership in a regional group, Israel cannot sit on the Security Council or other key UN bodies. On May 30, 2000, Israel accepted an invitation to become a temporary member of the Western European and Others (WEOG) regional group. But its membership is severely limited and temporary, and it only applies to UN bodies located in New York (and not in Geneva).

On the other hand, Syria, which has been added to the US list of states sponsoring terrorism, was elected in October 2001 to serve as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a body supposedly responsible for maintaining international peace. Similarly, Libya has chaired the UN Commission on human rights, and Iraq chaired the UN Commission on Disarmament before the toppling of Saddam Hussein.