New Delhi: In a significant diplomatic win, India was elected unopposed as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council winning 184 votes in the 193-member UN General Assembly on June 17.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet said he was “deeply grateful for the overwhelming support shown by the global community for India’s membership of the UN Security Council. India will work with all member countries to promote global peace, security, resilience and equity.”
India, Mexico, Ireland and Norway were elected to the UN Security Council but the 193 UN member states must return on June 18 to continue voting to fill one more vacant seat after there was no clear winner.
The Security Council is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions like imposing sanctions and authorising the use of force. It has five permanent veto-wielding members – the US, Britain, France, China and Russia – and 10 non-permanent members.
“Member States elect India to the non-permanent seat of the Security Council for the term 2021-22 with overwhelming support,” India’s Permanent Mission to the UN tweeted.
India will sit in the powerful UN body for two years beginning January 1, along with the five permanent members and non-permanent members Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam.
To be elected to the Council, candidate countries need a two-thirds majority of ballots of Member States that are present and voting in the Assembly. After operating virtually since March amid the Coronavirus pandemic, diplomats returned to the General Assembly hall on June 17 wearing masks and followed physical distancing to cast their secret ballots at allotted times.
India was the only candidate for the lone seat from the Asia-Pacific category. Its candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member grouping, including China and Pakistan, in June last year.
India has previously been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for the years 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and most recently in 2011-2012.
