UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan, Denmark, Greece, Panama, and Somalia are expected to secure seats on the UN Security Council in a secret ballot held Thursday in the General Assembly.
The 193-member world body is set to vote to elect five countries for two-year terms on the council. The 10 non-permanent seats on the 15-member council are allocated to regional groups, which typically select their candidates without contention, and this year is no exception.
Last year, Slovenia decisively defeated Russia’s ally Belarus for the East European regional group seat, reflecting widespread global opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This time, the regional groups have nominated Somalia for an African seat, Pakistan for an Asia-Pacific seat, Panama for a Latin America and Caribbean seat, and Denmark and Greece for two Western seats.
The five council members elected Thursday will begin their terms on January 1, replacing those whose terms end on December 31: Mozambique, Japan, Ecuador, Malta, and Switzerland. They will join the five veto-wielding permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France — and the five countries elected last year: Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia.
The Security Council is responsible for maintaining international peace and security. However, due to Russia’s veto power, it has been unable to take action on Ukraine, and due to the close ties between the US and Israel, it has not called for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza.
All five countries anticipated to win seats Thursday have previously served on the Security Council: Pakistan seven times, Panama five times, Denmark four times, Greece twice, and Somalia once.
