28 June 2016: The UN General Assembly (UNGA) elected Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Sweden to serve on the UN Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term beginning on 1 January 2017. Following five rounds of voting, Italy and the Netherlands proposed sharing the fifth open seat, with Italy serving in 2017 and the Netherlands in 2018. The UNGA is considering this proposal.

The newly elected members will replace Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela. The other current non-permanent members are Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay, whose terms will end in December 2017. The five permanent members of the Council (P5) are: China, France, the Russian Federation, the UK and the US.

Under the UN Charter, the UN Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

The UNGA elects the UNSC’s ten non-permanent members according to geographic rotation. The ten seats are filled with: five representatives from Africa and Asian states, one representative from Eastern Europe, two from Latin America and two from Western Europe and other states.

This is the first year that the UNGA has elected the five new members six months before they assume their responsibilities. This reportedly follows concerns that elected members have not had enough time to prepare for their terms. [UN Press Release] [UN Journal, 29 June] [Press Stakeout] [UN Security Council Website] [Security Council Report Special Research]