UNITED NATIONS – After months of intense campaigning, Pakistan was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on Thursday with a huge majority, promising to help address the major challenges facing the world.
Pakistan, running unopposed, received 182 votes out of 193 in the General Assembly, far surpassing the 124 votes needed for a two-thirds majority.
Loud applause filled the General Assembly hall when its president, Dennis Francis, announced the winners of the five non-permanent seats: Pakistan, Denmark, Greece, Panama, and Somalia. These countries will replace Japan, Ecuador, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland, whose terms end on December 31. Francis congratulated the new members on their victory.
Pakistan will take over from Japan, currently holding the Asian seat, on January 1, 2012, for a two-year term. This will be Pakistan’s eighth term on the Council.
Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, said that Pakistan’s election “shows the international community’s confidence in Pakistan’s ability to promote the UN’s goals and principles.” He stated that Pakistan will work actively with other Council members to achieve shared objectives.
Akram highlighted Pakistan’s goals on the Council, including:
- Promoting peace and security in South Asia
- Supporting the right to self-determination for the people of Palestine and Kashmir
- Encouraging normalization in Afghanistan
- Finding fair solutions to security challenges in Africa
- Improving UN peacekeeping operations
Pakistan has served on the Council in 2012-13, 2003-04, 1993-94, 1983-84, 1976-77, 1968-69, and 1952-53. It joins the Council during a time of significant global challenges.
For over 50 years, Pakistan has been a top contributor to UN Peacekeeping Missions, with more than 4,000 troops and personnel currently deployed worldwide.
The new non-permanent members will join the five permanent members with veto power — the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France — and the five countries elected as non-permanent members last year: Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia.
