JEDDAH: Bahrain has been elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council after receiving 165 out of 192 votes. The UN General Assembly voted on Friday to give Bahrain a seat on the council from 2019 until 2022. Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed said this victory for the Kingdom was the culmination of the wise policies of King Hamad in consolidating rights and freedoms. He added that Bahrain’s recognition also reflects the Kingdom’s awareness of the importance of human rights in achieving sustainable development. There are 47 seats in the UNHRC and elections are held annually for one third of the seats. Aside from Bahrain, the other countries which were voted into the council were Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Togo, Somalia, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Philippines, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Argentina, Bahamas, Uruguay, Austria, Denmark and Italy.