Austria and Turkey were elected to the United Nations Security Council today in a defeat for fellow European contender Iceland, whose financial collapse may have scuttled its quest for a seat.
Japan beat Iran by 158 votes to 32 for a single Asian seat open on the 15-nation council, the UN’s top policy-making body. Uganda and Mexico joined as uncontested candidates for African and Latin American slots. Envoys said Iran was hurt by its defiance of UN demands for limits on its nuclear development effort out of U.S. and European concerns the work may be aimed at building a weapon.
Turkey received 151 of 192 votes for a European seat, and Austria 133. Iceland had 87 votes. Turkey’s victory will put the Muslim ally of the U.S. on the Security Council for the first time since 1961. The Turkish government’s campaign for a European seat in the body coincided with its push for eventual European Union membership.
The membership mix will affect how the council deals with such geopolitical issues as U.S.-led efforts to curb Iranian and North Korean nuclear ambitions, the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan and democratic development from Asia to Africa.
The winning countries will join as temporary members for two-year terms starting in 2009 to fill seats vacated by Belgium, Indonesia, Italy, Panama, and South Africa. To win, they took two-thirds of the votes in the secret General Assembly balloting.
Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S. hold the five permanent seats on the council, with the power to veto measures on international security brought before the body. Five other countries are members through the end of next year: Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya and Vietnam.
To contact the reporter on this story: Robin Stringer at the United Nations at rstringer@bloomberg.net; Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 17, 2008 11:59 EDT
By Robin Stringer and Bill Varner
Bloomberg