ISLAMABAD: The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday elected Pakistan as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for a period of two years.
Voting took place at the United Nations General Assembly headquarters in New York. Pakistan was an unopposed candidate by 52 members of the Asian group of the UN.
Pakistan would be replacing Japan as UNSC non-permanent member. Japan’s term would end in December 2024. Pakistan will take up its position in UNSC from January 2024.
In the voting which was a secret ballot, Pakistan got 182 votes out of 185 total votes cast by the UNGA members. five countries abstained while three countries cast their vote against Pakistan in the voting.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed Pakistan’s election as the UNSC a proud moment and said “Our election to the council with such overwhelming support of the UN member states at this critical time bears testament to the international community’s confidence in Pakistan’s diplomatic standing as well as our commitment to global peace and security.
Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar in his greeting message said Pakistan is looking forward to upholding its commitment to the UN charter’s vision of preventing war and promoting peace, fostering global prosperity and promoting universal respect for human rights.
Mr Dar said Pakistan remained determined to contribute effectively towards the maintenance of international peace and security in line with the UNSC mandate.
The other four countries elected as non-permanent members are Denmark, Panama, Somalia and Greece.
Those 5 elected will serve for two years — from January 1, 2025, through the end of 2026.
They will replace Japan, Ecuador, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland whose terms end on December 31.
Under the UN Charter, the primary responsibility of the Security Council is the maintenance of international peace and security.
Pakistan’s earlier terms on the Council were in 2012-13, 2003-04, 1993-94, 1983-84, 1976- 77, 1968-69 and 1952-53.
The Security Council is composed of 15 countries, five of which – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – are permanent members, granting them the right to veto any resolution or decision.
The 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly, which comprises all 193 UN Member States, and in line with geographical distribution by region.
The Pakistan delegation, which is led by Ambassador Munir Akram, has worked hard for months, in coordination with the Foreign Ministry and Pakistani embassies around the world, and appears fully confident of success.
Ambassador Munir Akram in his comment said Pakistan will devote its efforts to promoting the maintenance of international peace and security and peaceful resolution of conflicts and disputes in accordance with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.
“We are grateful to all members of the UN General Assembly for their confidence in Pakistan and for electing it as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. We are also grateful to the members of the Asia-Pacific Group for endorsing Pakistan’s candidature for the Council”, foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in an official statement issued from Islamabad said
the statement said Elected for the eighth time as a non-permanent member, Pakistan brings to the UN Security Council a rich experience and a strong legacy of contributions towards the maintenance of international peace and security, manifested by its strict adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as well as its UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding endeavours across many regions of the world.
She said in its upcoming term, Pakistan will remain committed to pursuing just and peaceful resolution of outstanding and ongoing disputes; opposing the resort to unilateral and illegal use or threat of use of force; combatting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations; supporting effective UN peacekeeping, peace enforcement and peacebuilding efforts; and contributing effectively towards the resolution of regional and global crises.
Ms Mumtaz said Pakistan looks forward to working closely with the other members of the UN Security Council and with the broader UN Membership to uphold the UN Charter and pursue the vision of preventing war and promoting peace; fostering global prosperity and promoting universal respect for human rights.
