Five nations unanimously elected to UN Security Council for next term

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia secured seats in the UN Security Council during a secret ballot in the General Assembly on Thursday.

The global organization, which consists of 193 members, elected five countries to serve on the Council for the 2025-2026term.

The top UN panel, charged with maintaining international peace and security, is comprised of 15 nations, including five veto-wielding permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States.

The 10 non-permanent seats on the 15-member Council are allocated to regional groups that usually choose their own candidates, though disagreements can sometimes arise. However, there were no such disputes this year.

The five nations elected Thursday had run unopposed. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi stated, "Our tenure will be guided by the full commitment to multilateralism and respect of the principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter."

He added, "We will strive to strengthen the cooperation between the Security Council and the regional organizations, including the African Union."

AFP also reports that Greek Foreign Minister Giorgios Gerapetritis emphasized Greece's strategic position, saying it could help build bridges between north and south, east and west. "We aspire to give a new meaning to the idea of peaceful settlement of disputes," he said.

Despite the smooth election process, Human Rights Watch criticized the non-competitive vote.

In underlining the Human Rights Watch criticism, AFP reported the statement by Louis Charbonneau, UN director for the NGO, on X, the former Twitter, noting, "Uncontested elections for seats on the Security Council or any other UN body make a mockery of the word 'election,'".

He urged member countries to offer choices to ensure governments responsible for serious human rights abuses can be rejected, noting how Russian ally Belarus was defeated by Slovenia last year in a competitive election for the East European regional group seat, as members strongly opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Last year, Slovenia won the seat over Belarus in the Eastern European regional group. This year, the regional groups nominated Somalia for the Africa seat, Pakistan for the Asia-Pacific seat, Panama for the Latin America and Caribbean seat, and Denmark and Greece for two Western seats.

The five newly elected members will begin their term on January 1, 2025, replacing Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland, whose two-year memberships expire on December 31, 2024.

They will join the other five non-permanent members elected last year: Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and South Korea.

All five countries that won seats have previously served on the Security Council. Pakistan has been a member for seven terms, Panama for five terms, Denmark for four terms, Greece for two terms, and Somalia for one term.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.