Colombia will serve as a rotating member of the United Nations Security Council this coming January for a two-year term following approval of its uncontested bid to represent Latin America and the Caribbean alongside Brazil. This marks Colombia’s sixth time serving as a non-permanent rotating member of the Council, replacing Mexico as the second representative of the region. Other countries elected to serve as non-permanent rotating members include South Africa, Germany, Portugal, and for the first time, India.
Colombia’s bid for a seat on the Council was made official by President Juan Manuel Santos on September 24 during his address at the UN General Assembly, voicing Colombia’s commitment to assist UN efforts in maintaining international peace and security. However, Colombia’s bid was met with some opposition from neighboring Bolivia over concerns that Colombia’s presence on the Security Council would serve to expand the influence of the United States on the Council. Despite the concern, Colombia’s appointment was approved by 186 member countries.
In addition to the five newly elected countries, the Security Council’s other non-permanent members—Brazil, Nigeria, Lebanon, Gabon, and Bosnia-Herzegovina—will join the five permanent members (China, France, Russia, Britain, and the United States) for the 2011 term.