Rwanda wins UN Security Council seat
Friday October 19 2012
Aides and ballot boxes line up during the United Nations General Assembly session October 18, 2012 before the vote for five countries to become non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for the years 2013-2014 at UN headquarters in New York. AFP
Rwanda, Argentina and Australia won non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council on Thursday.
Each needed at least 129 votes from among the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly. Rwanda got 148, while Australia took 140 and Argentina 182.
Each year the 15-member council, the UN's most powerful committee, renews five of its 10 non-permanent seats, assigning them on a regional basis.
Two seats remained up for grabs as of mid-day as voting rounds proceeded.
For the Asia-Pacific region, it was between South Korea, Bhutan and Cambodia, while for the so-called Western European and Others Group, Finland and Luxembourg were vying for the last seat.
The five holders of new seats take them up in January for a two-year stint.
The permanent members, wielding veto power, are the United States, China, France, Britain and Russia