ID :
107691
Sun, 02/21/2010 - 00:08
Auther :

India`s candidacy endorsed by Asia group

Betwa Sharma
United Nations, Feb 20 (PTI) India's candidacy for a
non-permanent seat in the Security Council has been endorsed
by all 53 member states of the Asian group in the UN General
Assembly.
Nineteen countries including Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Afghanistan and Bangladesh spoke in favour of giving India
a slot on the Security Council table from January next year at
a meeting in New York.
Last month, India's path to a non-permanent seat got
clear after its sole competitor from Asia, Kazakhstan, backed
out of the race. The Indian candidacy already enjoys extensive
support among the member-states of the United Nations outside
the Asia group as well, according to Indian diplomats.
The Security Council is made up of 15 states--five
permanent members who have the Veto power and 15 non-permanent
members elected for a two-year term. To win, India needs
two-thirds of the General Assembly vote, which adds up to
about 128 counties saying yes to India's presence in the
Council.
Even before Kazakhstan dropped out diplomats here say
122 votes were in India's favour but now that it is the sole
runner from Asia, more votes are expected.
Running after more than a decade, India has
orchestrated a year-long campaign led by India’s envoy to the
UN, Hardeep Singh Puri, who has campaigned locally here in New
York and at multilateral events at the United Nations. MORE
PTI

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