On Friday, the UN General Assembly held an election for five seats in the Security Council for the 2022-2023 term. In the five-nominees unopposed election, the UAE received 179 votes out of the total 190 and was elected to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term starting on January 1, 2022.
Albania, Brazil, Gabon, and Ghana have been four other states that were elected for the UNSC along with the UAE. In the election, Albania received 175 votes, Brazil 181 votes, Gabon 183 votes, and Ghana 185 votes.
In order to be selected for the UNSC, each nominee should receive two-thirds of the votes in the 193-nation UN General Assembly.
To ensure fairness in representation, 10 seats in the 15-members Security Council, remaining from five permanent members, namely the United Kingdom, China, Russia, the United States, and France, are allocated to regional groups. The UAE will take the place of Tunisia in the Asia-Pacific slot on January 1, 2022, and its term will end on December 31, 2023.
Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Vietnam are other countries that would give their places in the Council to Albania, Brazil, Gabon, and Ghana.
This would be the second time the UAE serves in the Council following its 1986-1987 term.
Expressing his appreciation devoting from the election of his country to the UNSC, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, said, “the election of the UAE to the Security Council for the period 2022-2023 reflects its active diplomacy, its international position, and its distinguished development model.”
Speaking following the election, the UAE Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, stated that “the UAE has always been ready to shoulder its share of responsibility for the world’s most pressing challenges in collaboration with the international community, and this was the driving force of our bid.”
The United Nations Security Council, of which the permanent five members have veto rights, is responsible for maintaining international peace and security and is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions, such as imposing sanctions and authorizing military actions.
