In fact, not only the situation of human rights did not even come up for a vote, but also most important, for the first time in the past 19 years, the Islamic Republic was spared from being scrutinised by a special representative and Russia's military operation in the breakaway republic of Chechnya failed to win sufficient support.

The fears, expressed by some countries and human rights groups, were echoed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, who told the closing session that she was worried about a possible backlash against human rights probes and protection for victims of abuse.

Mrs Robinson also signalled a widening North-South divide with rich countries increasingly protecting one another and poor countries seeking each other's support.

"They’re dedicated to protecting themselves from scrutiny rather than upholding human rights", Rory Mungoven, advocacy director at New York-based Human Right Watch said, as another stated that the annual meeting had degenerated into an occasion where known violators of human rights pat each other on the back.

"Many human rights activists object to the arbitrariness of some of the Commission’s members. They say power games and perceived horse-trading have little to do with the state of abuse or violations on the ground", noted Christoph Schmidt of Radio Netherlands.

They also said that the significant absence of the United States from the Commission helped China, Russia and Iran to escape sanctions.

"It's really an assault on the naming and shaming of countries that commit human rights violations," Loubna Freih of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

For the first time in decades, Washington failed to get enough votes in last year's secret ballot to remain on a Commission, that, anyhow, it had never attached much importance if not to "punish" some antagonising nations like China, Cuba or Iran.

As a result of the American absence, China's human rights record didn't even come up for a vote this year, Islamic countries that had backed a Chechnya-resolution on earlier occasions voted against, India and China also showed more understanding of Russia's position in the Caucasus republic.

Other draft resolutions at the annual session that sought to draw attention to human rights violations in Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, or in Iran were also beaten off, mainly by regional alliances or groups of "like-minded" states.

An Asian-dominated group of developing or emerging countries, including China, objects to a confrontational approach or "finger pointing" at governments, favouring instead generic approach to problems such as racism or torture.

They also prefer to see UN "technical assistance" granted to countries to deal with human rights issues, instead of the appointment of special rapporteurs, or experts probing countries.

In the resolution, the 15-nations European Union had called for the re-conduction of Mr. Maurice Copithorne, the Canadian scholar and lawyer to scrutinise the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic.

"In our view, the commission's supervisory mechanism is selective and discriminatory and pursues political objectives and not improvement of human rights", Iran’s permanent envoy at the UN’s European HQ in Geneva, Mohammad Reza Alborzi told the pro-reforms daily "Mardom Salari" (Democracy).

"There are abundant instances of political misuse of the UN Commission on Human Rights by certain countries that cannot serve as a global model for human rights", he went on, adding that in this year's forum, those who voted for the resolution condemning alleged human rights abuses in Iran refused to vote for a resolution calling on Israel to stop its genocide of Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp. "This, Alborzi added, indicates their practice of applying double standards and discrimination".

In his last report, Mr. Copithorne had noted though the situation of human rights had not improved in Iran, but it had gained in importance for the public opinion.

In an interview with Iran Press Service, Mr. Copithorne said reforms process in Iran had reached the point of no return and advised foreign countries not to try to interfere with this process.

Twenty of the Commission’s 53 countries, mostly Arabs and Muslim regimes but as well as Cuba and some African states, voted against the European Union-sponsored resolution, which, while having noted progress in Iran, but also expressed concern at continued "public and especially cruel executions, the use of torture, and the deterioration of freedom of expression".

"To this end, we are prepared to contemplate another practical alternative to replace this current mechanism", she told the forum, adding that under the presidency of Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Khatami, Iran was moving towards a "full fledged democracy" and remained "committed to human rights", without adding details.

Explaining the vote, Dr Karim Lahiji, the president of the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights blamed the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian controlled cites, the unilateral backing the United States provide Mr. Sharon’s iron fist policy and some "give and takes" between Iran in the one hand, China and Russia on the other for the "regrettable, negative vote".

He also noted that in order to divide the Europeans and encourage "hesitant states", the Islamic Republic had not only freed from jail most of the detainees belonging to the Nationalist-religious groups and Iran Freedom Movement, but also deployed great lobby activities in the corridors of the United Nations in Geneva.