2012 United Nations Security Council election

Rules

In accordance with the 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:

• One for the African Group (previously held by South Africa)
• One for the Asia-Pacific Group (previously held by India)
• One for the Latin American and Caribbean Group (previously held by Colombia)
• Two for the Western European and Others Group (previously held by Germany and Portugal)

The election was for the term from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2014.

Candidates

African Group

Asia-Pacific Group

Republic of Korea

Latin American and Caribbean Group

Western European and Others Group

Rwanda controversy

Prior to the actual vote, the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo rose to speak and said that Rwanda "was an oasis for criminals" operating in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and on those grounds, she objected to Rwanda as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. A confidential UN report was also leaked before the election, which stated that Rwanda is involved in the current conflict in the eastern DRC and that "Rwandan officials exercise overall command and strategic planning for M23 ... Rwanda continues to violate the arms embargo through direct military support to M23 rebels, facilitation of recruitment, encouragement and facilitation of FARDC (Congolese army) desertions as well as the provision of arms and ammunition, intelligence, and political advice." Rwandan UN representative Olivier Nduhungirehe responded by saying, "The members of the General Assembly know exactly what our record is and they cannot be deterred or swayed by a baseless report, which has no credibility."

Results

Argentina, Australia, and Rwanda were elected in the first round of voting, while Luxembourg and the Republic of Korea were elected in the second. In both rounds, 193 voting papers were distributed.

African and Asia-Pacific Groups

|RWA:148 |ROK:116,149 |CAM:62,43 |BHU:20 |TZA:3 |COD:1

Latin American and Caribbean Group

|ARG:182 |BAR:1 |CUB:1

Western European and Others Group

|AUS:140 |LUX:128,131 |FIN:108,62

References

References

1. (26 June 2012). "Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly: Report by the Secretary-General". [[United Nations]].
2. "Question of equitable representation on the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council".
3. "Minister Mushikiwabo press briefing focuses on UNSC, ICGLR and Rwanda Day". Government of the Republic of Rwanda.
4. "Bhutan seeks seat on UN Security Council for 2013–2014". [[China People's Daily]].
5. "Cambodia candidate for the United Nations Security Council 2013–2014". cambodianembassy.org.uk.
6. "ROK-UN Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea.
7. (28 September 2012). "Security Council Elections 2012". Security Council Report.
8. (26 September 2012). "Australia Candidate for the United Nations Security Council 2013–14". Australia-unsc.gov.au.
9. (7 October 2009). "Finland to the UN Security Council 2013–2014 – Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN : Current Affairs". Finlandun.org.
10. "Luxembourg, Candidate for the Security Council 2013-2014".
11. (18 October 2012). "GA/11303 – General Assembly Elects Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, Republic of Korea, Rwanda as Non-Permanent Members of Security Council". United Nations Department of Public Information.
12. Charbonneau, Louis. (16 October 2012). "Exclusive: Rwanda, Uganda arming Congo rebels, providing troops – U.N. panel". Reuters.
13. Charbonneau, Louis. (18 October 2012). "RPT-Under fire over Congo rebels, Rwanda eyes UN Security Council seat". Reuters.
14. Musoni, Edward. "Rwanda Elected to UN Security Council". allAfrica.com.