By Marcus Kabel

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 21, 1995 (Reuter) - A U.N. body, acting on objections from Iran and China, barred 11 activist groups Friday from attending a world conference on women's issues and the United States and Canada said the decision was motivated by politics .

The Western and Japanese delegates however stopped short of blocking the consensus move by the U.N. Economic and Social Council or ECOSOC. The council dismissed objections to another eight Non-Governmental Organizations or NGOs and gave them permission to join the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September.

It was not the first sign of turmoil around the conference, China's first big international meeting. The Chinese government is also under fire for moving a gathering of NGOs on the eve of the conference from central Beijing to a site outside the capital.

Spain's delegation to ECOSOC, speaking for the European Union, said the EU was "disassociating" itself from the decision to bar the 11 groups, a diplomatic step that registers protest without blocking a measure. "The reason for excluding these NGOs was not based on the criterion approved by the General Assembly but rather on political considerations," a Spanish delegate told the ECOSOC meeting at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva.

The United States, Canada, Japan and several European countries joined Spain in questioning whether the 11 groups were left out because of their political beliefs. Guidelines handed down by the U.N. General Assembly call for accrediting NGOs as long as they are involved in women's issues and have a national or international rather than local character.

"The concerns expressed by the EU are totally unnecessary," the Chinese representative told the council. China opposed five NGOs, most of them involved with Tibet, where the Beijing government is sensitive about its human rights record and Tibetan independence claims.

However, ECOSOC delegates agreed in three informal negotiating sessions to allow in two of the groups opposed by Beijing, including the U.S.-based Human Rights in China.

Iran had objected to conference accreditation for 10 groups, mainly anti-government organizations of Iranian women in exile. Most were left out but one from the United States and another from Denmark were admitted. Remaining objections from Iraq, India, Sudan and Bhutan were rejected when ECOSOC adopted the final list of about 2,750 NGOs accredited to the Beijing conference from September 4 to 15.