UNITED NATIONS, Jun 09 (APP): The United Nations General Assembly elected Japan, Ecuador, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday for two-year term starting on Jan. 1, 2023.
Japan, which will replace India on the Asian seat, received 184 votes in the 193-member Assembly. Ecuador received 190 votes, Malta 185, Mozambique 192 and Switzerland 187.
They will replace Mexico, Ireland, Kenya and Norway, whose 2-year terms on the
15-member Council are expiring at the end of this year.
To ensure geographical representation, seats are allocated to regional groups. But even if candidates are running unopposed in their group, they still need to win the support of more than two-thirds of the General Assembly.
The Security Council is the only U.N. body that can make legally binding decisions like imposing sanctions and authorizing use of force. It has five permanent veto-wielding members: the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia.
