NIGERIA ELECTED TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL

Goodluck Jonathan
After months of canvassing for
Nigeria's inclusion in the United
Nations Security Council, the
country, Thursday, finally got
elected to occupy one of the non-
permanent seats on the council.
Also elected were Chad, Chile,
Lithuania and Saudi Arabia.
According to the Washington
Post, Saudi Arabia and Chad
easily won the seats despite
criticisms from human rights
groups.
Nigerian and four other
candidates, endorsed by regional
groups, faced no opposition, as
there were no contested races
for the first time in several years.
Hailing Nigeria's inclusion as a
Security Council member,
President Goodluck Jonathan
welcomed the development and
conveyed Nigeria's appreciation
of the support of all member
countries of the UN who voted
for the country's election.
The five new non-permanent
members were elected in the
first round of voting by the 193-
member General Assembly.
Lithuania was the top vote-getter
with 187 votes followed by
Nigeria and Chile with 186 votes,
Chad with 184 votes and Saudi
Arabia with 176 votes.
Security Council seats are highly
coveted because they give
countries a strong voice in
matters dealing with
international peace and security
in places like Syria, Iran, North
Korea as well as the UN's far-
flung peacekeeping operations.
The 15-member council includes
five permanent members with
veto power - the US, Russia,
China, Britain and France - and
10 non-permanent members
elected for two-year terms.
The five countries elected
yesterday will assume their posts
on January 1, 2014 and serve
through the end of 2015. They
will replace Azerbaijan,
Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan
and Togo.
Philippe Bolopion, United Nations
Director for Human Rights Watch,
denounced the election of Chad,
Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
"The prestige of a seat at the
world's foremost diplomatic
table should prompt the new
members to get their houses in
order," he said.
"Chad should put an end to the
recruitment of child soldiers,
which earned it a spot on the UN
list of shame," he said. "Saudi
Arabia should end its crackdown
on human rights activists and
grant women their full rights," he
added.
Bolopion also criticised Nigeria,
saying it should "end the chronic
abuse by security forces and
better protect civilians in the
north" from attacks by the Boko
Haram terrorist network.
Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of
Geneva-based human rights
group UN Watch, accused Saudi
Arabia of denying women the
right to vote, drive a car or travel
without the permission of a male
relative.
He also accused it of "praising
and shielding Sudan" whose
president, Omar al-Bashir, is
wanted by the International
Criminal Court (ICC) for war
crimes and crimes against
humanity in Darfur.
Neuer said Chad should not have
oversight on UN peacekeeping
operations as long as it employs
child soldiers.