Mozambique on Tuesday joined the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member replacing Kenya with a pledge to prioritize the fight against terrorism, reported The CGTN Africa. The country will serve at the council as a non-permanent member for the next two years.
Ecuador, Japan, Malta, and Switzerland are the other four countries taking the two-year seats at the UNSC they won unopposed in June replacing India, Ireland, Mexico, and Norway.
Mozambican Ambassador Pedro Comissário Afonso called it a historic date as his country marked its first-ever term on U.N.’s powerful organization.
“We are going to deal a lot with terrorism,” said Mr. Afonso.
Mozambique has been reeling with an Islamist insurgency in its northern Cabo Delgado province since last five years. Over one million people have been displaced and around 4,000 have lost their lives due to the violence.
Mr Comissário said the country would also push for reforms to address the concerns of African countries at the Security Council.
Notably, the Security Council has five permanent members including the United States of America, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and China and 10 non-permanent members.
Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi also vowed to defend international peace and security in his message to the nation.
In a message published on Nyusi’s Facebook page, the president said the government’s guideline will focus on defending and safeguarding the interests of Mozambique, Africa, developing countries and the world in the defense of international peace and security. It added that the UN body will work to promote harmony and the sustainable development of peoples.
According to Mr. Nyusi, the event was unprecedented in Mozambique’s history, which testifies to the trust and prestige of the Republic of Mozambique among global nations.
He said that the country is ready to take up strong international challenges as part of the UNSC and the main security challenge of his country is the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado province.
