UN delays treaty on human cloning

By a margin of one vote, the General Assembly's legal committee postponed UN action until the assembly session that starts in September 2005. Iran had asked for the delay on behalf of the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference, saying the United Nations needed time to overcome deep divisions and reach agreement on a treaty that would be universally accepted.

The 80-79 vote, with 15 abstentions, reflected major differences in the 191-nation world body on how far a ban on cloning should go.

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Scientists have successfully cloned sheep and other animals. Researchers linked to the Raelians, a religious group, claim to have produced human babies by cloning, but they have not offered proof.

At the United Nations there are two main camps: The United States and about 50 other countries are pushing to ban all forms of human cloning. Fourteen other countries -- including Britain, Japan and China -- are lobbying for a ban only on production of babies. That would allow scientists to use "stem cells" gathered from human embryo clones for medical treatments.