By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 18, 2008

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 17 -- Facing bankruptcy at home, Iceland on Friday endured another humbling blow to its international prestige, losing its first bid to serve as a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

Iceland was soundly defeated by Turkey and Austria in the three-way race for the council's two European seats. Mexico, Uganda and Japan won the three Security Council seats reserved for Latin American, African and Asian countries. Tehran, which is the target of three Security Council sanctions resolutions, was routed by Tokyo, receiving only 32 votes in the 192-member U.N. General Assembly.

Iran's loss represented a serious diplomatic setback for Tehran, which portrayed itself as a champion of the developing world that could balance U.S. and European dominance on the 15-nation security council. It insisted that it deserved a seat because it had served on the council only once in its history, under the shah of Iran, 50 years ago.

John Sawers, Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, said Iran's "thrashing" sends a strong message about the global displeasure with Tehran. "Hopefully, they will understand that this means there is no support from the international community," said U.S. diplomat Alejandro Wolff. Iran's delegation declined to address reporters after the vote.

The U.N. General Assembly votes each year to fill five of the council's 10 rotating seats. Winners serve two-year terms on the council, which oversees a force of about 90,000 international peacekeepers and wields power to impose sanctions on countries that violate its dictates.

Governments seeking council membership often spend lavishly on their campaigns -- hosting sumptuous dinners, organizing yacht trips and inviting foreign diplomats to capitals or concerts at Carnegie Hall, where Austria hosted a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic. The council's poorest members have also historically parlayed their votes into increased offers of foreign assistance from the council's wealthiest nations.

But particular attention has focused on Iceland, which ran a quixotic campaign. U.N. delegates said the tiny Nordic country of 300,000 had been gaining ground in recent months, but they suspected that its prospects were hurt by the financial crisis, which brought about the collapse of its banking system just weeks before the vote.

After the vote, Iceland's foreign minister, Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, congratulated Austria and Turkey and said the financial crisis did not hinder Iceland's campaign. "I must admit disappointment not to get more votes," she said. "We got a lot of promises that have not been kept. But this is not the end of the world."

Gisladottir also criticized Britain's decision to freeze the assets of a British subsidiary of a collapsed Icelandic bank in an effort to protect British depositors. "It was not helpful at all," she said, citing Britain's invocation of an anti-terrorism law to block Icelandic funds.

But many diplomats said that Iceland -- which had strong support from its Nordic neighbors -- was unable to compete with two far more influential and wealthy countries that began campaigning more than three years ago.

"I don't think the international financial crisis was decisive," said Heraldo Muñoz, Chile's U.N. ambassador. "They developed a pretty good strategy in the last stage of the campaign. I thought that perhaps they would have done a bit better."

Iceland portrayed its smallness as an attribute in the council, where large, powerful countries make most of the decisions. It also distributed literature and a CD-ROM showing off the country's natural attributes, including glaciers that cover one-ninth of its territory. A high percentage of the country's population, it noted, is active in the fine arts.

But Iceland never quite shook the feeling that powerful forces were aligned against it. Earlier this year, an Icelandic official complained about a report in an Austrian publication, Profil, that quoted U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon -- formerly South Korea's ambassador to Vienna -- as rooting for Austria to win a council seat. Ban later issued statements saying that was not the case. "The secretary general does not favor any candidates," said Ban's spokeswoman, Michele Montas.