NZ on Security council

New Zealand lands seat on UN Security Council

New Zealand has won a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council.

UN vote explained

NZ's UN history

Key players in vote

In a vote at the UN's New York headquarters on Thursday local time (Friday morning NZT), New Zealand won support with 145 votes to take one of the 'Western Europe and other nations' seats, ahead of Turkey and Spain in the first round of voting.

New Zealand will take its seat on the council for two years, starting on January 1, 2015. The last time New Zealand sat on the council was 1993-94. It had earlier stints in 1953/54 and 1966.

Prime Minister John Key said New Zealand's success in gaining a place on the Security Council was a victory for the small states that made up over half the United Nations' membership.

"We have worked very hard on the bid for close to a decade because we believe that New Zealand can make a positive difference to world affairs and provide a unique and independent voice at the world's top table," Key said.

"It has been more than 20 years since New Zealand was last on the Council and we are ready to contribute again.

"Our win proves small countries have a role to play at the UN and we are determined to represent the perspective of small states at the Security Council table.

"At the moment the Council faces a number of challenging issues. New Zealand is looking forward to serving on the Council and making a positive contribution throughout our two-year term."

Key said it had been a tough campaign against Spain and Turkey, which he said were two "much bigger countries and close friends".

He also paid tribute to the hard work that had gone into the campaign from across the New Zealand Government and in particular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The campaign for a seat started in 2004 and culminated this week in last ditch lobbying by Foreign Minister Murray McCully and his Labour Party opposite David Shearer.

Venezuela, Angola and Malaysia were the other nations elected in the first round of ballots to coveted seats on the Security Council.

Venezuela's socialist government was unopposed for the single seat allocated to Latin America, and the Caribbean, gaining 181 of 182 votes; Angola was the only candidate for an African seat, receiving 190 votes, and Malaysia had no opposition for an Asian seat, gaining 187 votes.

Neither Turkey nor Spain got enough votes in the first or second ballot and were involved in a third round of votes to determine the fifth and final spot.

Special attention has been on Turkey as it is under growing pressure to do more about the war in Syria pushing up against its border. Support for Turkey dipped from the first ballot to the second. It needed 128 votes and got 109 in the first and the support of 73 countries in the second. Spain was elected in the third round, receiving 102 votes.

Venezuela's foreign minister, Rafael Ramirez, quickly dedicated "this huge triumph" to late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. He said the election win came despite a "malign campaign against our country."

The United States, which torpedoed Venezuela's last attempt to join the council in 2006, would not discuss how it voted. Ten countries abstained in that vote.

Despite current President Nicolas Maduro's close ties with Syria's President Bashar Assad and Iran and its support for Russia over the Ukraine crisis, the United States chose not to publicly oppose Venezuela's candidacy this year.

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Rights observers expressed concern at some of the newly elected council members.

"The Security Council's new membership could prove more problematic on human rights issues, with several generally rights-friendly countries leaving and others coming on board with poor voting records," Philippe Bolopion, the UN director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "This is particularly true of Venezuela, which has consistently challenged protection efforts at the (UN) Human Rights Council, but also of Angola and Malaysia, which need to demonstrate a more human rights-oriented approach in New York than they did in Geneva."

The countries' foreign ministers have been in town lobbying hard for support, with splashy banquets and other events. The ballots are secret, and to win, each country has to obtain support of two-thirds of all General Assembly members present, or a minimum of 129 votes if all 193 members participate.

The winners will replace Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, South Korea and Rwanda

Article from www stuff.co.NZ