The United Nations Security Council on Friday elected five countries including Niger and Tunisia as the non-permanent members for the period 2020-2021. The other countries who were elected to the UNSC are Estonia, Vietnam, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the smallest nation ever to secure a seat in the UN council, reported Africa News.
The Security Council has 15 members- five permanent members China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
The newly elected UNSC members will begin their term in January 2020. The newly elected members will replace Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Poland and Peru whose mandates expire on 31 December 2019.
The elections to select the five non-permanent members were conducted in the iconic General Assembly hall. In order to get elected, a Member State has to get the required 2/3 majority of 128 votes.
The African Union endorsed the candidacies of both Niger and Tunisia. In the African and Asia Pacific category, Vietnam got 192 out of 193 votes, followed by Niger and Tunisia with 191 votes each. In the Latin America and Caribbean category, St. Vincent and the Grenadines got 185 votes. In the Eastern European States category, Estonia got 111 votes.
“Sincere thanks to all UN member states for overwhelmingly electing Tunisia in the Security Council,” said the country’s permanent mission to the UN.
“Our priority is – as you know I come from a state of the Sahel region – it is the fight against terrorism,” said Nigerien Foreign Minister, Kalla Ankouraou. “Today this is no higher priority than this one in the world. Obviously, what does this call for? It calls for fighting the causes of terrorism which are mainly the result of underdevelopment.”
