A United Nations committee has voted to deny consultative status to the Committee to Protect Journalists, effectively keeping the press freedom group from accessing UN bodies and processes.
The committee voted 10-6 with three abstentions on Thursday to deny CPJ's application first made in 2012.
CPJ's application for consultative status was deferred seven times for procedural reasons before coming up for a vote at the request of the United States.
Also Read
Human rights groups have criticized the UN's non-governmental organization committee for increasingly rejecting organizations for political reasons.
In a statement, CPJ called the application process "Kafkaesque" and blamed "a small group of countries with poor press freedom records" for employing bureaucratic delaying tactics. CPJ can still appeal the decision.