WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday slammed a UN decision to bar media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) from taking part in United Nations meetings for one year, calling the Cuban-backed move antithetical to the world body’s stated values.

The State Department said Thursday’s vote in Geneva by the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was “ironic” given that it was punishment for RSF exercised its freedom of speech by protesting against Libya earlier this year at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

“We believe it is ironic that the free expression of an NGO representing a profession devoted to the free flow of ideas can be squelched in its peaceful criticism of a representative of a dictatorial government in the primary UN body devoted to protecting and defending human rights,” said Tara Rigler, a department spokeswoman.

“This action by the Cubans undercuts the values for which the Commission on Human Rights and its parent body, the Economic and Social Council, were created to promote,” she said.—AFP