Japan elected as nonpermanent member of UNSC for 2009-2010 term

Japan elected as nonpermanent member of UNSC for 2009-2010 term
Saturday 18th October, 06:20 AM JST
NEW YORK —
The U.N. General Assembly on Friday elected Japan and four other countries as nonpermanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms beginning in January 2009. Austria, Turkey, Uganda and Mexico were the other countries that received at least the two-thirds majority vote of 128 required for election from the 192 members of the assembly. The five countries will fill an identical number of UNSC seats which will be vacated at the end of December. Japan defeated Iran 158 to 32, winning one seat allocated to Asian members of the United Nations. Indonesia currently holds the seat. ‘‘We believe that this is the manifestation of trust and confidence member states have in Japan’s role in the Security Council’’ in peace and security, development, the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, food crisis and climate change, Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Yukio Takasu told reporters. Turkey and Austria won two seats earmarked for the ‘‘Western Europe and Others’’ region, defeating Iceland by garnering 151 votes and 133 votes, respectively. Existing nonpermanent members for the category are Italy and Belgium. Japan defeated Iran overwhelmingly in view of the confrontation between Iran and other U.N. members, especially the United States and European countries, over its nuclear program. Japan is also believed to have received support from other U.N. members in light of the second largest financial contributor to the world body after the United States. Japan sees Security Council membership as vital for it to intensify its bid for permanent council membership as intergovernmental talks on the proposed expansion of the U.N. membership structure are to begin soon. ‘‘In the course of next year, I am convinced that the momentum of Security Council reform after all so many years will be high,’’ Takasu said. ‘‘We hope that Japan’s active participation as a nonperamanent member over the next two years will be conducive to the reform that will include expansion of permanent members and nonpermanent members,’’ he said. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff pledged to support Japan’s bid for permanent membership in the council. ‘‘Of course Japan is a country that we support for permanent membership and the fact that it was elected by such a resounding number of votes also brings us great satisfaction,’’ said Wolff. ‘‘We expect them to be an outstanding contributor to the work of the council.’’
The General Assembly elects five countries each year to fill an identical number of vacated seats. The Security Council consists of five permanent veto-wielding members and 10 nonpermanent members who serve two-year terms. In Tokyo, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said in a statement that ‘‘Japan will play an active and constructive role at the Security Council which is tasked with maintaining peace and security of the international community.’’ ‘‘Japan will strive to realize Security Council reform and Japan’s permanent membership at an early time,’’ Nakasone said. While U.N. members generally agree that Security Council reform is necessary to help the United Nations effectively cope with new challenges in the 21st century, there are widely divergent views on how to reform it. Past negotiations failed over the number of new seats and whether veto should be granted to new permanent members.
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