Brazil, India elected to UN economic, social body
October 30, 2014, 6:22 am

India garnered the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group to be reelected to the body [Image: UN]

India garnered the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group to be reelected to the body.

The 193-member UN General Assembly on Wednesday elected 18 members of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to serve a three-year term beginning January 1, 2015.

India’s term at ECOSOC was scheduled to end this year and it was re-elected after getting 183 votes, the highest in the Asia Pacific group, followed by Japan and Pakistan with 181 votes each. A country required two-thirds majority of 124 to win a seat in the elections.

Earlier last week, New Delhi also got re-elected to the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the period of 2015-17.

Indian envoy to the UN Asoke Mukerji had said that the re-election win is a “useful indicator” to show that “what India stands for in the international community is not only a perception of India but is backed-up by a vast majority of the UN membership.”

The Indian envoy had also reiterated the concerns of developing countries at the long-pending reforms of the UN Security Council. The UNSC’s reluctance in expanding beyond the 5 permanent members (US, France, China, Russia and UK) who hold  veto powers, means entire regions of the world are locked out of the decision-making.

In a speech at the UN General Assembly last month, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff slammed the delay in implementing reforms at the UNSC, the body tasked with keeping international peace.

“The Security Council has been having difficulties in promoting peaceful solutions to those conflicts. A genuine reform of the Security Council is necessary to overcome the current paralysis. This process has been dragging on for too long,” she said.

“I am certain we all understand the serious risks of paralysis and inaction at the Security Council,” she added.

The UNSC, which has powers to authorize military action, impose sanctions and set up peacekeeping operations, has 10 rotating members.

India and Brazil have both bid for permanent membership of the UNSC.

The other 16 members to be elected on Wednesday to ECOSOC apart from India and Brazil were Argentina, Austria, Burkina Faso, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Japan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Of the 18 elected, Austria, Burkina Faso, France, Germany, Greece, India, Japan and Portugal were re-elected.

TBP and Agencies