The vote came in March 2005,[1] after four years of debate and an end to attempts for an international ban.
Proposed by Honduras, the statement was largely supported by Roman Catholic countries and opposed by countries with active embryonic stem cell research programs.
The statement should have no impact on countries that allow therapeutic cloning, such as Britain and South Korea, as it is not legally binding.
"The foes of therapeutic cloning are trying to portray this as a victory for their ideology," Bernard Siegel, a Florida attorney who lobbies to defend therapeutic cloning, said in a Reuters report.
"But this confusing declaration is an effort to mask their failure last November to impose a treaty on the world banning therapeutic cloning."