India has been overwhelmingly elected as a non-permanent member of the powerful UN Security Council for a two-year term, in an unprecedented election where envoys from the 192 member states voted wearing masks and in adherence to the strict social distancing norms due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the eighth time that India will sit at the UN high-table.
Previously, India was elected for 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and most recently in 2011-2012 when Hardeep Singh Puri, now India's Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Civil Aviation, was India's Permanent Representative.
Back then, India placed its position as a non-permanent member of UNSC by successfully winning 56/58 votes in 1950-1951, 82/119 votes in 1967-1968, 107/116 votes in 1972-1973, 132/138 votes in 1977-1978, 142/155 votes in 1984-1985, 141/154 votes in 1991-1992, 187/191 votes in 2011-2012 and finally by 184/192 votes in 2021-2022.
Less than a year after its term at the Security Council ended, India had put in its candidature for the non-permanent seat in 2013 under the tenure of then Permanent Representative Ambassador Asoke Mukerji.
India, the endorsed candidate from the Asia-Pacific States, won 184 votes out of the 192 ballots cast in the elections for the five non-permanent seats of the Security Council, the world organisation's most powerful organ.
India's two-year term term as the non-permanent member of the UNSC would begin from January 1, 2021.
Along with India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway also won the Security Council elections held on Wednesday.
In 2021, India, Norway, Ireland and Mexico will sit in the most powerful UN organ along with five permanent members -- China, France, Russia, the UK and the US as well as non-permanent members Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam.
The two-year terms of Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa are ending this year.
Immediately after the results were announced, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said in a video statement that he is "truly delighted that India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2021-22.
"We have received overwhelming support and I'm deeply humbled by the tremendous confidence, which the member states of the United Nations have reposed in India," he said.
Tirumurti said India's election to the Security Council is a "testament" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "vision and his inspiring global leadership particularly in the time of COVID-19." "India will become a member of the Security Council at a critical juncture and we are confident that in the COVID-19, and the post-COVID-19 world, India will continue to provide leadership and a new orientation for a reformed multilateral system," Tirumurti said.
He said that the outcome is a "reflection" of the "strong campaign" led by Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and also thanked Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla as well as his predecessor Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin.
India will be guided by the five priorities under the overarching theme of NORMS: New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System. These priorities, launched by Jaishankar, includes new opportunities for progress, effective response to international terrorism, reforming multilateral systems, comprehensive approach to international peace and security, and technology with a human touch.
