News
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Pakistan to assume its seat on UNSC todayUNITED NATIONS: Pakistan will assume its seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Sunday (today) as a non-permanent member for a two-year term. Pakistan was elected to the 15-nation council in a hard fought contest last October when 129 out of 193 members of the UN General Assembly voted for it. Kyrgyzstan, which had challenged Pakistan, was far behind with 55 votes. Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, who spearheaded the campaign, has said Pakistan would play a constructive role in resolving key global issues that the council is dealing with or may come up. He said that Pakistan was committed to multilateralism and promoting the principles and purposes enshrined in the UN Charter. “We hope to play our usual role of taking on matters which affect the underdog, so as to speak,” he said. The Security Council, a primary instrument for establishing and maintaining international peace, consists of five permanent members including Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. In addition ten non-permanent members are also elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms, from five different regions of the world. Pakistan will replace Lebanon, which completed its two-year term on the Asian seat at midnight on Saturday. Pakistan has previously served the council in 1952-53, 1968-69, 1976-77, 1983-84, 1993-94 and 2003-04. It will thus be Pakistan’s seventh time on the Security Council, and the fourth time its term will overlap with India. Along with Pakistan, the General Assembly in October also elected Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco and Togo to serve as non-permanent members. The newly elected countries will replace Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, and Nigeria. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk