UN to elect 5 new Security Council members

[Zippyjuan]

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/int?guid=20131016/09ad9588-fc77-4e51-bab8-9b0d48eb4d56

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly elects five new members to the Security Council on Thursday and the winners are virtually certain because there are no contested races — Nigeria, Chad, Saudi Arabia, Lithuania and Chile.

Chad, Saudi Arabia and Lithuania have never served on the U.N.'s most powerful body while Nigeria and Chile have both been on the council four times previously.

Security Council seats are highly coveted because they give countries a strong voice in matters dealing with international peace and security, such as Syria, sanctions against Iran and North Korea and the U.N.'s far-flung peacekeeping operations.

The 15-member council includes five permanent members with veto power — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — and 10 nonpermanent members elected for two-year terms.

Seats are allocated by region, and regional groups nominate candidates. There are often hotly contested races. In 2007, for example, a runoff between Guatemala and Venezuela went 47 rounds before Panama was finally offered, and elected, as the Latin America candidate.

This year, there were initially two candidates for a West African seat but Gambia dropped out last week in favor of Nigeria.

To win, each country must obtain support of two-thirds of all General Assembly members present, or a minimum of 129 votes if all 193 members participate.

Because balloting is secret, there is intense lobbying for votes by candidates, even in uncontested races, to ensure they get the minimum number needed for victory.

 

[Republicanguy]

The UN is valuable, but it needs reform it has only been what nearly seventy years, not long. But I don't see it ever really happening.

 

[FrankRep]

Thomas Massie:

I just cosponsored former Rep. Ron Paul's American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2013 to cease membership in the United Nations.

The United Nations threatens our national sovereignty, and burdens our taxpayers for counterproductive purposes.

The United States is responsible for about $8 billion to the U.N., about 25 percent of the organization's budget, and that cost continues to climb. Meanwhile, the UN increasingly wants to influence our domestic environmental, trade, labor, tax, and gun laws.

For example, Secretary Kerry recently signed the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, a move that undermines both our national sovereignty and our Second Amendment rights. Why should we pay into a system that serves to infringe on our Constitution?

I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the bill, which was introduced by Rep. Paul Broun.​

American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2013
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr75

 

[Neil Desmond]

Thomas Massie:

I just cosponsored former Rep. Ron Paul's American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2013 to cease membership in the United Nations.

The United Nations threatens our national sovereignty, and burdens our taxpayers for counterproductive purposes.

The United States is responsible for about $8 billion to the U.N., about 25 percent of the organization's budget, and that cost continues to climb. Meanwhile, the UN increasingly wants to influence our domestic environmental, trade, labor, tax, and gun laws.

For example, Secretary Kerry recently signed the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, a move that undermines both our national sovereignty and our Second Amendment rights. Why should we pay into a system that serves to infringe on our Constitution?

I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the bill, which was introduced by Rep. Paul Broun.​

American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2013
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr75

Good!

Get the US out of the UN & get the UN out of the US.

 

[Smart3]

Chad is almost as bad as North Korea. How the hell are they being allowed to get a seat?

 

[alucard13mm]

Saudi Arabia... Great. lolz. Now the fun will begin.

 

[eduardo89]

The UN is valuable, but it needs reform it has only been what nearly seventy years, not long. But I don't see it ever really happening.

The only reform the UN needs is to be abolished.