India in UNSC after 18-yr gap
India was on Tuesday elected unopposed from the Asian region for a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council after a long 18-year gap. India was last a Council member in 1991-92.
India, which won by a record 187 votes (98 per cent of the UN’s membership), joins South Africa, Colombia, Germany and Portugal as the five new members of the 15-nation body. Their two-year term begins January 1, 2011.
The five other non-permanent members — Bosnia, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria — were elected last year and will remain on the Council till the end of 2011.
Speaking after the results were announced at UN Headquarters, a beaming external affairs minister S.M. Krishna said this was a “step forward” towards India’s aspiration for permanent membership.
“The resounding endorsement of India’s candidature at the UN serves as a reaffirmation, if any were needed, of the overwhelming support that India enjoys in the international community,” he said.
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