United Nations. Years of campaigning for a seat at the world’s “top table” come to a head this week when elections are held to the UN Security Council, which decides on such weighty matters as sanctions, war and peace.
Five seats are up for grabs in the 15-member Council, where the elected countries will join the five permanent powers — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — for a two-year stint.
For the contenders, a Council seat is the ultimate diplomatic prize, raising a country’s profile several notches, boosting influence and providing knockoff benefits in bilateral ties.
Governments spend years lobbying …read more
Source: The Jakarta Globe
