Zoom Image
UN headquarters in New York
Photo: CARLO ALLEGRI / REUTERS
The UN General Assembly has elected Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia to the UN Security Council for a two-year term, while Belarus failed in its bid.
Algeria, Guyana, South Korea and Sierra Leone had no opponents in their respective regional groups in Tuesday's election in New York. Slovenia and Russia-allied Belarus competed against each other in their regional group, with Slovenia clearly prevailing over Belarus with 153 votes with 38 votes.
The five countries will replace Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates from next year. The UN Security Council is the only body that can pass legally binding resolutions for member states and send military personnel – and thus one of the most important bodies of the United Nations.
The Council consists of 15 states. Five of them are permanent members; ten others are elected to the board for a two-year term. Each year, five of the non-permanent members are re-elected. The permanent members USA, Russia, China, Great Britain and France have veto rights and can thus block decisions on their own. The other non-permanent members are currently Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Switzerland and Mozambique.
ktz/dpa