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New York: The State of Kuwait was elected Friday a non-permanent member for the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term starting January 2018.
Kuwaiti news agency (KUNA) reported that Kuwait received 188 votes out the 192 ballots. The other four countries were Cote D'Ivoire (189), Equatorial Guniea (185), Poland (190) and Peru (186).
The Security Council is comprised of five permanent members that have a right to Veto. They are the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia. There are 10 other members who are non-permanent and are elected for two-year terms. Five of the 10 non-permanent members are replaced each year.
The chairmanship of the Security Council changes each month from one member to the next alphabetically. Having a good geographical representation is taken into consideration when the elections take place. This year saw the five overall seats available for election in 2017 come from four continents. There were two seats for the African Group ( Cote D'Ivoire and Equatorial Guniea), one seat for the Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States (Kuwait), one seat for the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (Peru) and one seat for the Eastern European Group (Poland) and one seat for the Western European and Others Group (the Netherlands).
Kuwait gained membership into the United Nations in 1963. It served as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 1978 and 1979. Kuwait announced in 2011 again its nomination for a non-permanent member seat the Security Council. The Asia Pacific Group ratified the nomination officially in 2016, along with the GCC, Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
