India, Mexico, Norway and Ireland will replace Germany, Belgium, the Dominican Republic and Indonesia on January 1 in the UN Security Council.
India, the Mexico, the Norway and Ireland were elected Wednesday (17 June 2020) by the General Assembly of the United Nations as non-permanent members of the Security Council for 2021 and 2022, Canada once again failed to achieve.
The defeat of Ottawa could have political consequences for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“We will continue to play a leading role in promoting global cooperation and in building a more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable world,” responded Justin Trudeau, who proclaimed in 2015 that “Canada is back” on the international scene.
During an exchange with journalists, his head of diplomacy, François-Philippe Champagne, underlined that the campaign led by Canada had “enabled him to renew and tighten several of (his) bilateral relations”.
One seat for the African continent
Relating to the Western Europe and others region, for which two positions were to be filled, Canada, already eliminated in 2010 against Portugal, collected only 108 votes, against Norway 130 votes, and the Ireland 128, just the minimum required to prevail.
For the only seat that was to be filled for the African continent, Djibouti and Kenya – whose rivalry also lies in the language, French for the first, English for the second – are forced to a second round to be held Thursday. Kenya obtained 113 votes and Djibouti 78 votes.
Cutting edge with the previous years which made them choose only one candidate to assure its victory, the African countries had not managed this year to agree. Kenya prides itself on having the support of the African Union, but Djibouti considers it to be a priority by virtue of a principle of rotation whereas Nairobi has sat on the Council a greater number of times.
Kenya highlighted its aid for the pacification of Somalia and South Sudan. Djibouti, with its strategic geographic location and where French, American, Chinese and Japanese military bases are notably located, also underlined its contribution to helping Somalia.
India alongside China
Only candidates for their Asia-Pacific and Latin America and Caribbean regions, India, which will sit alongside China when the two countries have just experienced a deadly border confrontation, won 184 votes and Mexico 187 out of 192 countries who participated in the poll.
The four winners will replace on January 1 Germany, Belgium, the Dominican Republic and Indonesia.
The UN Security Council has 15 members, five of whom are permanent and ten non-permanent, halved each year. A non-permanent seat represents a considerable vector of influence for the candidate countries whose campaign over several years gives rise to all possible approaches.
In preparation for this year’s election, Canada and Ireland had invited representatives of the UN countries to concerts in New York by their respective national stars: Céline Dion and Bono with their rock group U2.
“Endless lobbying”
“Campaigning for a seat on the UN Security Council involves endless lobbying, organizing festivities, and worrying that the ambassador who just promised you a vote may be a liar,” says Richard Gowan an expert of the International Crisis Group.
Campaigning for a #UNSC seat involves endless lobbying, entertaining and worrying that the ambassador who just promised you a vote is a liar. I’ve known friends lose these races, and it can be wrenching.
No predictions who’ll win tomorrow, but well done to all for a good fight.
— Richard Gowan (@RichardGowan1) June 16, 2020
According to François-Philippe Champagne, Justin Trudeau has called in recent days about fifty heads of state, and himself some 130 counterparts, to tip the scales in favor of Canada.
For fear of fraud or manipulation, electronic voting for a time considered due to the Covid-19 pandemic had been ruled out. Each of the 193 UN members had been invited to take turns casting their votes in a ballot box according to a time slot fixed in advance.
This tedious and a little surreal procedure in an empty enclosure will be renewed Thursday for the seat devolved to the African continent.
During the election on Wednesday, the members of the General Assembly also elected as next president for the session, from September 2020 to September 2021, the Turkish Volkan Bozkir, a diplomat and ex-minister. He won 178 out of total 192 votes cast and his election was praised by his government.
