History as Somalia set to become UN Security Council non-permanent member

NEW YORK - Somalia is set to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a major milestone in the stabilization of the country which has struggled for the last 3 decades due to insecurity and political tussles.

Ahmed Fiqi, the minister for Foreign Affairs, is leading the delegation from Somalia, which is in New York to oversee the voting process. The country has been pushing for this opportunity for the last two years when Kenya became a member.

Somalia will hold the seat for two years starting from January 2025. Somalia will be joined by four other members - Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, and Panama. All have previously serviced in the Council including Somalia in the early 1970s.

They replace Mozambique, Switzerland, Malta, Japan, and Ecuador. The 10 non-permanent seats on the 15-member council are allotted to regional groups that usually select their candidates but sometimes can’t agree on one. There are no such surprises this year, AP reports.

In 2023, Slovenia defeated Belarus, a close ally of Russia in the contest for Eastern European nations, in what was guided by Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been locking horns with several Western countries for the last two years.

This time, the regional groups put forward Somalia for an African seat, Pakistan for an Asia-Pacific seat, Panama for a Latin America and Caribbean seat, and Denmark and Greece for two mainly Western seats.

They will join the five veto-wielding permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, and France — and the five countries elected last year — Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia.

Somalia is currently battling Al-Shabaab and IS-Somalia militants, who have wreaked havoc in the country for several years. The militants have been fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia.

Analysts believe Somalia’s presence in the Security Council will significantly help the Horn of Africa nation in passing anti-terrorism policies which are essential for stabilization missions. The country is optimistic that Al-Shabaab will lose influence by the end of 2024.

GAROWE ONLINE