The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter. Its powers include establishing peacekeeping operations, enacting international sanctions, and authorizing military action. The UNSC is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions on member states.
The Maldives has remained an independent nation throughout its recorded history, save for a brief spell of Portuguese occupation in the mid-16th century. From 1887 to 1965, the country was a British protectorate while retaining full internal sovereignty. At its independence in 1965, the Maldives joined the United Nations on 20 September.
The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly.
The Group of Western European and Other States, also known as the Western European and Other States Group or WEOG, is one of the five United Nations regional groups and is composed of 28 Member States mainly from Western Europe, but also from Oceania, Northern America, and Western Asia.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) encompasses five key issues: categories of membership, the question of the veto held by the five permanent members, regional representation, the size of an enlarged Council and its working methods, and the Security Council-General Assembly relationship. The Member States, regional groups and other Member State interest groupings developed different positions and proposals on how to move forward on this contested issue.
The United Nations Regional Groups are the geopolitical regional groups of member states of the United Nations. Originally, the UN member states were unofficially organized into five groups as an informal means of sharing the distribution of posts for General Assembly committees. Now this grouping has taken on a much more expansive and official role. Many UN bodies are allocated on the basis of geographical representation. Top leadership positions, including Secretary-General and President of the General Assembly, are rotated among the regional groups. The groups also coordinate substantive policy and form common fronts for negotiations and bloc voting.
The 2007 United Nations Security Council election was held on 16 October 2007 during the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at UN Headquarters in New York City. The elections were for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2008.
The 2008 United Nations Security Council election was held on 17 October 2008 during the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The elections were held for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2009.
The 2012 United Nations Security Council election was held on 18 October 2012 during the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. The elections were for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2013 to replace the five countries whose terms expired. The countries elected were Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, the Republic of Korea, and Rwanda with Luxembourg being elected for the first time.
The 2001 United Nations Security Council election was held on 8 October 2001 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City during the 56th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly elected five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year terms commencing on 1 January 2002.
The 1994 United Nations Security Council election was held on 20 October 1994 during the Forty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Botswana, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia, and Italy, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1995. Both Botswana and Honduras were elected for the first time, whereas Germany was elected for the first time since German reunification.
The 1993 United Nations Security Council election was held on 29 October 1993 during the Forty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Argentina, the Czech Republic, Nigeria, Oman, and Rwanda, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1994. Oman and Rwanda were elected for the first time ever, while the Czech Republic was elected for the first time as a separate country after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
The 1976 United Nations Security Council election was held on 21 October 1976 during the Thirty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, India, Mauritius, and Venezuela, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1977. Both Mauritius and West Germany were elected members of the Council for the first time.
The 2016 United Nations Security Council election was held on 28 June during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The elections were for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2017. In accordance with the Security Council's rotation rules, whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats were allocated as follows:
The 2017 United Nations Security Council election was held on 2 June 2017 during the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In addition to the regular elections for five of the non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council, there was by-election for a sixth seat held by Italy who relinquished its seat at the end of the year as part of a term splitting agreement with the Netherlands. The regular elections are for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2018; the by-election is for the remainder of Italy's term. In accordance with the Security Council's rotation rules, whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five regularly available seats are allocated as follows:
The 2019 United Nations Security Council election was held on 7 June during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The elections are for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2020.
The 1972 United Nations Security Council election was held on 20 October 1972 during the Twenty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Australia, Austria, Indonesia, Kenya, and Peru, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1973. In addition, Austria, Indonesia and Kenya were elected into the council for the first time.
The Seventy-second Session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 12 September 2017. The President of the United Nations General Assembly was from the Eastern European Group.
The Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States is one of the five United Nations regional groups and is composed of 53 Member States from Asia and Oceania.
