UN General Assembly to hold elections for five members of UNSC
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will elect five new non-permanent members to the Council today.
India and Mexico, the only countries from their respective regions nominated for the posts, along with three other states from Africa, Europe, or the Americas, will join with the five non-permanent members elected in 2019 as well as the five permanent members. Beginning on January 2021, the new members will serve a two-year term on the UNSC.
Although non-permanent members lack the veto power exercised by permanent members, their voices and votes are required to pass any binding resolutions. India is expected to lay greater emphasis on combating international terrorism during its tenure. Currently, the UNSC has remained relatively silent on counterterrorism, only passing two resolutions to dismantle the financial networks that support terrorism. Even these resolutions have been setback as political affiliations, notably between China and Pakistan, foster doubt regarding which groups are defined as terrorists and the existence of a state-terror nexus.
A resurgent al-Qaeda, the persistence of ISIS and concerns over the future of the Taliban in Afghanistan after a US withdrawal have brought terrorism to the forefront of international security once again. Now, with India taking on its eighth term as a non-permanent member, the conversation surrounding counterterrorism will likely become more forceful. India will call for an expansion of which militant groups classify as terrorist groups, for sanctioning of Pakistan due to the actions of its Inter-Services Intelligence in funding terror, and possibly for greater utilisation of UN peacekeeping forces in securing unstable regions used by terrorist networks as training grounds.
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