UNIPATH STAFF
For the third time, Jordan has accepted a position as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
The award of a Security Council seat “recognizes the role of Jordanian diplomacy worldwide,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said.
The country served as a nonpermanent member from 1964 to 1965 and again from 1982 to 1983. Jordan joins Chad, Chile, Lithuania and Nigeria for the two-year term that began January 1, 2014. The five permanent Council members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Other nonpermanent members are: Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, South Korea and Rwanda. Those five countries will remain on the council until the end of 2014.
A vast majority of U.N. General Assembly states voted in favor of Jordan — 178 out of 183 — and Judeh attributed the honor to the general appreciation and respect that member states have for King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein.
Jordan’s presence on the council will enable the nation to serve Arab issues and enhance the kingdom’s position at the international level, Judeh said. The country has contributed thousands of troops to U.N. peacekeeping operations around the world
Egyptian Ambassador to Jordan Khaled Tharwat said Jordan’s election as a nonpermanent member recognizes Jordan’s commitment to achieve peace in the region.
“We consider this step as an opportunity to enhance dialogue in the Middle East, and we are sure that Jordan will represent the Arabs at the Security Council and support Arab causes, mainly the Palestinian issue and the Arab viewpoint on the Syrian crisis,” Tharwat said.
Jordanian U.N. Ambassador His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein served as president of the council in January, with meetings focused on conflicts in Syria, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali and Sudan’s Western Darfur state. Jordan is scheduled to preside over the council again in April 2015.
Sources: Agence France-Presse, The Jordan Times, PETRA – Jordan News Agency, Reuters, United Nations