New Delhi: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will elect five new non-permanent members to the council today. France took over the Presidency of the powerful 15-member Security Council for the month of June.
The United Nations General Assembly last month adopted a decision to hold the Security Council Elections under new voting arrangements taking into account restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
India is a candidate for a non-permanent seat from the Asia-Pacific category for the 2021-22 term. Its victory is given since it is the sole candidate vying for the lone seat from the grouping.
New Delhi’s candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan, in June last year. Each year the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members out of ten in total, for a two-year term.
The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis. This year, Canada, Ireland and Norway are vying for two seats in the Western Europe and Other countries category, Mexico is the only candidate for the one Latin America and Caribbean seat while Kenya and Djibouti will contest the seat available for the African group. Beginning in January 2021, the new members will serve a two-year term on the UNSC.
India lists out its 5 priorities at UN
India has been pushing for a permanent seat in the UNSC that has 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent ones.
About 8-10 back, it also listed its five priorities at the UN including an effective response to international terrorism.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India’s five priorities would be “New Opportunities for progress, An Effective response to international terrorism, Reforming the multilateral system, a comprehensive approach to international peace and security, and Promoting technology with a human touch as a driver of solutions”.
It added that its “overall objective during this tenure in the UN Security Council will be the achievement of N.O.R.M.S: a New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System”.
