Credit: Gary Raynaldo   ©Diplomatic Times /  Kalla Ankourao, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Niger, speaks to press after the west African nation’s election as non-permanent member to  UN Security Council June 7, 2019  outside General Assembly Hall at world headquarters in New York

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED  NATIONS   –  West Africa nation NIGER has secured a seat on the United Nations Security Council.  Following a secret ballot held on Friday, the UN General Assembly elected five countries to the Security Council, including Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Estonia, Tunisia, Viet Nam. The five non-permanent members were elected for two-year terms on the Security Council starting on 1 January 2020.  Niger secured one of the two seats for the African Group, the other went to Tunisia. The two African nations take over from Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea.  So, now what can the world expect from Niger?  Well, first of all Niger will face one of the most important issues facing West Africa at the moment: The deteriorating security situation in the region and the  Sahel. This includes rising concerns over developments in Burkina Faso, which could have broader spill-over effects on West Africa, and the situation in Lake Chad Basin.  According to a Security Council Report, Niger faces a “triple threat” as a result of the conflict in Mali to its east, the  war in Libya to its north, and the presence of Boko Haram in the southeast.  It is expected Niger will take a strong interest in these issues on the Security Council’s agenda.   The cycle of deadly violence continues in west Africa nation Mali, just weeks  after its Prime Minister resigned along with the entire government over a failure  to  stem the tide in ethnic and  jihadist killings.  A violent attack against the United Nation’s Integrated Stabilization Mission for Mali (MINUSMA)  left one peacekeeper dead last month.  A separate incident in Tessalit left three Chadian peacekeepers injured.   On April 20,  a United Nations peacekeeper from Egypt was killed and four others injured in an improvised explosive device attack on a convoy in central Mali’s Mopti region.  Since 2013, when MINUSMA deployed,   nearly 200 peacekeepers have died in Mali, including close to  120 killed during hostilities.   The deadly violence has spiraled out of control this year, in particular, with no end in sight despite the presence of thousands of UN and international peacekeeping troops in  Mali,  and across the Sahel region.  Niger will have a lot on it plate when it gets down to business at the Security Council.  Kalla Ankourao, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Niger stated to the press Friday that in addition to security in West Africa and Sahel, his country will also be working to assure security for the entire world, and will also address global climate change while on the Security Council. 

Every year, five countries are elected to the 15-member Council (10 of whom are non-permanent) for a two-year term, according to a geographical rotation set by the Assembly in 1963, to ensure fair regional representation: five from African and Asian and Pacific States; one from Eastern Europe; two from Latin American States; and two from Western European and Other States (WEOG).

 ©Diplomatic Times /  Kalla Ankourao, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Niger, speaks to press after the west African nation’s election as non-permanent member to  UN Security Council June 7, 2019  outside General Assembly Hall at world headquarters in New York

Credit: UN Photo by Mark Garten/  The General Assembly today elected five non-permanent members for two-year terms on the Security Council starting on 1 January 2020:  Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Viet Nam.     Kersti Kaljulaid (centre), President of the Republic of Estonia, is flanked by (from left): Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Kalla Ankourao, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Niger; Khemaies Jhinaoui, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Tunisia; and Le Hoai Trung, Vice Minsiter for Affairs of Viet Nam.

Credit: Gary Raynaldo   ©Diplomatic Times /  Kalla Ankourao, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Niger, UN General Assembly June 7, 2019.

Credit: Gary Raynaldo   ©Diplomatic Times /  UN General Assembly June 7, 2019

Credit: Gary Raynaldo   ©Diplomatic Times /   UN General Assembly June 7, 2019.