Shafaqna Pakistan: The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday elected Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe to serve on the 15-member United Nations Security Council for two-year terms beginning January 1, 2027.
Germany, which had strongly lobbied for a seat, finished third in the contest for the two available seats allocated to the Western European and Others Group, securing 104 votes compared with 134 for Portugal and 131 for Austria.
In the Asia-Pacific contest, the race between the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan went through four rounds of voting before Kyrgyzstan ultimately secured the required two-thirds majority, winning 142 votes to 49 and earning its first-ever seat on the Security Council.
The United Nations Security Council is the UN body responsible for binding decisions on international peace and security, including sanctions and authorizations for the use of force. It comprises five permanent members with veto power: the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, and the United States.
The remaining 10 members are elected, with five new members joining every year. This year, one comes from the Africa Group, one from the Latin American and Caribbean Group, one from the Asia-Pacific Group, and two from the Western European and Others Group.
Zimbabwe will replace Somalia and Trinidad and Tobago will replace Panama, while Portugal and Austria will replace Denmark and Greece. Kyrgyzstan will replace Pakistan.
Bahrain, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Latvia and Liberia will continue to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council until the end of 2027.
On Tuesday, the General Assembly elected Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman as president of the 193-member body for its 81st session, which begins in September.
Source: Dunya News
