UNGA elect Ethiopia, Bolivia, Sweden and Kazakhstan as non-permanent UNSC members

June 29, 2016

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has elected Ethiopia, Bolivia, Sweden and Kazakhstan as the non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
These newly-elected countries will have two-year term starting from 1 January 2017 till 31 December 2018. They will replace Spain, Malaysia, New Zealand, Angola and Venezuela.
The voting for these countries in the UNGA was conducted by secret ballot in which members of the UNGA had voted.
Key Facts

Bolivia (183 votes) and Ethiopia (185 votes) were chosen from Group of Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa region respectively.
Sweden (134 votes) won from the Group of Western Europe.
Kazakhstan won from the Group of Asia Pacific against Thailand.

About United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

UNSC is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations (UN).
It is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security as well as accepting new members to the UN and approving any changes to its UN Charter.
Powers: (i) establishment of peacekeeping operations, (ii) establishment of international sanctions, (iii) authorization of military action through UNSC resolution.
It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
Members: It consists of five permanent, veto-wielding members – China, Russia, France, UK and US along with 10 non-permanent members.
The non-permanent seats are allocated according to a rotation pattern set by the UNGA in 1963, to ensure a proportionate representation over time from different parts of the world.
Of the 10 members, 5 are from African and Asian states, 1 from Eastern European states, 2 from Latin American states and 2 from Western European and Other states.

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