October 12, 2010

India Earns Seat on UN Security Council, Nicolas Duncan

Five new members have been voted onto the UN’s Security Council for the next two years; India being one of the countries to earn a one of the non-permanent seats. The other four countries voted in included: Germany, Portugal, South Africa, and Colombia. The five permanent members of the council are China, Russia, France, Britain, and the US. Every year, five of the non-permanent members step down after completing two years, and other countries battle to fill the seats.  Candidates are chosen by region; the main contest in this election was among Western countries. The last time India held a seat on the council was in 1992.  Indian diplomats have been advocating for the spot for the past three years. To obtain a seat, India needed two-thirds of the General Assembly vote. However, it was expected that India would get voted in with little resistance because they were the sole candidate from the Asia region after Kazakhstan withdrew its name earlier this year.  India won with support from 187 of the 192 member states.  The 15-seat Security Council is one of the most important UN instruments. Its main charge is maintaining international peace and security.