2012 United Nations Security Council election
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5 (of 10) non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council | |||||||||||||
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 United Nations Security Council membership after the elections Permanent members Non-permanent members | |||||||||||||
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| Unsuccessful candidates |
 Bhutan (Asian Group)
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 Cambodia (Asian Group)
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 Finland (WEOG)
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The 2012 United Nations Security Council election was held on 18 October 2012[1] during the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. The elections were for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2013 to replace the five countries whose terms expired. The countries elected were Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, the Republic of Korea, and Rwanda with Luxembourg being elected for the first time.
Rules
[edit]In accordance with the rotation rules whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes,[2] the five available seats were allocated as follows:
- One for the African Group (previously held by South Africa)
- One for the Asia-Pacific Group (previously held by India)
- One for the Latin American and Caribbean Group (previously held by Colombia)
- Two for the Western European and Others Group (previously held by Germany and Portugal)
The election was for the term from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2014.
Candidates
[edit]African Group
[edit]Asia-Pacific Group
[edit] Bhutan[5]
Cambodia[6]
South Korea[7]
Latin American and Caribbean Group
[edit]Western European and Others Group
[edit]
Australia[8]
Finland[9]
Luxembourg[10]
Rwanda controversy
[edit]Prior to the actual vote, the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo rose to speak and said that Rwanda "was an oasis for criminals" operating in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and on those grounds, she objected to Rwanda as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.[11] A confidential UN report was also leaked before the election, which stated that Rwanda is involved in the current conflict in the eastern DRC and that "Rwandan officials exercise overall command and strategic planning for M23 ... Rwanda continues to violate the arms embargo through direct military support to M23 rebels, facilitation of recruitment, encouragement and facilitation of FARDC (Congolese army) desertions as well as the provision of arms and ammunition, intelligence, and political advice."[12] Rwandan UN representative Olivier Nduhungirehe responded by saying, "The members of the General Assembly know exactly what our record is and they cannot be deterred or swayed by a baseless report, which has no credibility."[13]
Results
[edit]Argentina, Australia, and Rwanda were elected in the first round of voting,[14] while Luxembourg and the Republic of Korea were elected in the second. In both rounds, 193 voting papers were distributed.[11]
African and Asia-Pacific Groups
[edit]| African and Asia-Pacific Groups election results[15] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Member | Round 1 | Round 2 |
 Rwanda |
148 | — |
| Republic of Korea |
116 | 149 |
| Cambodia |
62 | 43 |
| Bhutan |
20 | — |
 Tanzania |
3 | — |
 Democratic Republic of the Congo |
1 | — |
| valid ballots | 192 | 192 |
| invalid ballots | 0 | 1 |
| abstentions | 1 | 0 |
| present and voting | 191 | 192 |
| required majority | 128 | 128 |
Latin American and Caribbean Group
[edit]| Latin American and Caribbean Group election results[15] | |
|---|---|
| Member | Round 1 |
 Argentina |
182 |
 Barbados |
1 |
 Cuba |
1 |
| valid ballots | 192 |
| invalid ballots | 1 |
| abstentions | 8 |
| present and voting | 184 |
| required majority | 123 |
Western European and Others Group
[edit]| Western European and Others Group election results[15] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Member | Round 1 | Round 2 |
| Australia |
140 | — |
| Luxembourg |
128 | 131 |
| Finland |
108 | 62 |
| valid ballots | 193 | 193 |
| abstentions | 0 | 0 |
| present and voting | 193 | 193 |
| required majority | 129 | 129 |
See also
[edit]- List of members of the United Nations Security Council
- Australia and the United Nations
- Korea and the United Nations
- European Union and the United Nations
References
[edit]- ^ "Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly: Report by the Secretary-General". United Nations. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ United Nations General Assembly Session 18 Resolution 1991. Question of equitable representation on the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council A/RES/1991(XVIII)
- ^ a b "Security Council Elections 2012". Security Council Report. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ^ "Minister Mushikiwabo press briefing focuses on UNSC, ICGLR and Rwanda Day". Government of the Republic of Rwanda. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ^ "Bhutan seeks seat on UN Security Council for 2013–2014". China People's Daily. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ "Cambodia candidate for the United Nations Security Council 2013–2014" (PDF). cambodianembassy.org.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
- ^ "ROK-UN Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ "Australia Candidate for the United Nations Security Council 2013–14". Australia-unsc.gov.au. 26 September 2012. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ^ "Finland to the UN Security Council 2013–2014 – Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN : Current Affairs". Finlandun.org. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ^ "Luxembourg, Candidate for the Security Council 2013-2014". newyork-un.mae.lu.
- ^ a b "GA/11303 – General Assembly Elects Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, Republic of Korea, Rwanda as Non-Permanent Members of Security Council". United Nations Department of Public Information. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ Charbonneau, Louis; Michelle Nichols (16 October 2012). "Exclusive: Rwanda, Uganda arming Congo rebels, providing troops – U.N. panel". Reuters. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ Charbonneau, Louis; Michelle Nichols (18 October 2012). "RPT-Under fire over Congo rebels, Rwanda eyes UN Security Council seat". Reuters. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ Musoni, Edward. "Rwanda Elected to UN Security Council". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ a b c United Nations General Assembly Session 67 Verbatim record 27. A/67/PV.27 page 2. 18 October 2012 at 10 a.m. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
External links
[edit]- "UN General Assembly to elect five non-permanent members to Security Council". UN News Centre. Retrieved 18 October 2012.