Mozambique has been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term beginning in January, reported The BBC.
On Thursday, the 193-member UN General Assembly held elections to elect the five non-permanent members for the next two-year term. Ecuador, Japan, Malta, and Switzerland are the other four countries that were elected in the vote.
Mozambique received 192 votes, Ecuador 190, Japan 184, Malta 185, and Switzerland 187. They will replace India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, and Norway which will vacate their seats at the end of this year. The results were announced by the President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid.
Filipe Nyusi, the president of Mozambique, said the country will represent the African nations and work to build a peaceful future.
“This is a historic moment for the country, a milestone that Mozambique should be proud of. Our country has a history. It has the record and experience of advocating conflict mitigation measures and, above all, of promoting negotiated solutions for peace, in this sense, our commitment remains unwavering,” Nyusi said in a statement.
The 15-member council has five permanent members – the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China- which also have the right to veto. The remaining 10 non-permanent seats of the council are allocated on the basis of geographic region, with five replaced each year.
Countries must receive a two-thirds majority, or 128 votes to secure a seat in the UNSC.
Switzerland and Malta were elected for two seats in Western Europe and other States category, Mozambique (192 votes) and Japan (184 votes) were elected for two seats in African and Asia-Pacific States and Ecuador was elected for the one seat in the Latin American and Caribbean States category. The Eastern European group is not contesting any seats this year, as its one seat, held by Albania, comes up for election every other year.
The UN’s Security Council is tasked to maintain international peace and security. It has the power to make legally binding decisions, impose sanctions and authorize the use of force.
