With 190 votes, the UN General Assembly elected Ecuador as one of the five non-permanent members of its Security Council. Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland are the other members.
Ecuador was elected on June 9, 2022 as one of the five members of the United Nations Security Council.
The country won 190 of 193 votes in the UN General Assembly , which also appointed Japan, Malta, Mozambique, and Switzerland as its other non-permanent members.
From January 1, Ecuador will be a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2023-2024. He returns to occupy that position after 30 years , since the last time was in 1992.
According to a government statement , Ecuador will prioritize in the Council the peaceful resolution of disputes , the protection of civilians in contexts of armed conflict and the women, peace and security agenda.
In addition, the fight against illicit arms trafficking and attention to emerging threats.
The Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. It has 15 members and each one has one vote.
In accordance with the Charter, all UN Members agree to accept and abide by the decisions of this Council.
No opposition
The Ecuadorian candidacy had no competition within the Latin American and Caribbean group and received practically unanimous support.
Until now, Ecuador had sat on three occasions in the highest decision-making body of the organization: in the bienniums 1950-1951, 1960-1961 and 1991-1992.
The Ecuadorian government had already received the approval of the countries of the region to take over this prestigious position in the United Nations and in recent months it campaigned among the rest of the member states to guarantee the necessary votes.
Ecuador will occupy the seat that Mexico will vacate at the end of this year, as one of the two representatives of Latin America and the Caribbean, while Brazil will continue for another year, since its mandate expires at the end of 2023.
Along with ten rotating seats, the Security Council is always made up of five permanent members, who also have veto power: the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.
The Council, which deals with peace and security issues, is the most powerful UN body in charge, the only one with the capacity to impose binding measures that can be applied by force.
Among the main issues on his agenda are currently the wars in Ukraine, Yemen and Syria, several African conflicts or the sanctions regimes that weigh on different countries such as North Korea.