Nigeria elected into UN Security Council

The United Nations General Assembly yesterday elected Nigeria and four others to serve as non-permanent members on the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on January 1, 2014.

The other countries are Chad, Chile, Lithuania and Saudi Arabia. The five countries obtained the required two-thirds majority of those Member States present and voting in the 193-member Assembly.

In a statement issued by U.N. after the election said the five countries were elected in one round of secret balloting. They will replace Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo, whose terms will conclude at the end of this year.

The five permanent Council members, which each wield the power of veto, are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.  Non-permanent members Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, the Republic of Korea and Rwanda will remain on the Council until the end of 2014.

Under the UN Charter, the 15-member Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and all Member States are obligated to comply with its decisions.

In addition, the Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls on the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, it can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Nigeria campaigned vigorously for the seat, with President Goodluck Jonathan leading campaign. An example of such campaign was obvious in his address during the commencement of the ongoing 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where the president emphasised the need for Nigeria to return to the UNSC seat.

Also to boost Nigeria’s chances, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, left the country on Monday night for New York, to lead the final campaign for Nigeria’s election into the UNSC seat.

The minister had, on the margins of the High Level Segment of the 68th Session of the UNGA, held bilateral talks with the Gambian Foreign Minister, Mrs. Susan Waff Ogoo, whose country was also bidding for the seat, but without AU or ECOWAS endorsement.

Onwuliri had campaigned vigorously at different international fora for Nigeria’s candidature. She held over 15 bilateral meetings at the 68th Session of UNGA, as well as the Nigerian Day organised by the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN on October 8, in New York, where Nigeria also solicited the support of the invited countries.

At the last count, 174 countries pledged support for Nigeria’s candidacy.