Salloukh Urges Arabs to Elect Lebanon as Security Council Member
Caretaker Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said on Thursday that he has urged Arab countries to back Lebanon in its bid for a non-permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council.
"I asked them to back and support Lebanon in its nomination" for the seat, Salloukh said at Beirut airport upon his return from Cairo where he took part in the Arab foreign ministers meeting.
"The elections will be held next month and all Arabs will vote for Lebanon. But we hope that the biggest number of member countries vote for Lebanon," Salloukh added.
The Council currently has five permanent members with veto power — the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France — and 10 non-permanent members who serve two-year terms and have no power to veto resolutions.
The 10 elected members enjoy all other aspects of council membership, including the right to propose resolutions, chair committees and hold the rotating council presidency for one-month periods.
Five countries are elected every year by the General Assembly to replace five retiring ones.