The United Nations General Assembly has elected five new non-permanent members to the UN Security Council, with 188 member states participating in the vote. Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia were elected to serve on the council for a two-year term, starting January 2026. The vote was decisive, with each country receiving a significant number of votes. Bahrain secured 186 votes, the Democratic Republic of the Congo garnered 183 votes, and Liberia received 181 votes in the African and Asia-Pacific group. Colombia received 180 votes in the Latin America and the Caribbean group, while Latvia secured 178 votes in the Eastern European group.
The newly elected members bring valuable experience to the table. While Latvia will be serving on the council for the first time, Colombia, the DRC, Bahrain, and Liberia have all previously held seats. Colombia has served seven times, the DRC twice, and Bahrain and Liberia once each. This experience will undoubtedly shape their contributions to the council.
The representatives of the new council members expressed their hopes for their tenure. Multiple representatives highlighted specific conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Ukraine that they aim to help resolve. Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie of the DRC, emphasized her country’s unique perspective. “We will most certainly come to the Security Council bearing the experience of a country that knows what it is like to have decades of conflict, that has a thorough understanding of the challenges of peacekeeping operations and protection of civilians issues, as well as the convergence between conflict, natural resources and environmental changes,” she said.
Kayikwamba Wagner added that the DRC’s experience would be used to serve humanity, not just its own interests. “We know that the situation in the DRC is not an individual or isolated one. We have a lot of crises around the world.” Liberia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, shared a unifying message, “We have gathered here as representatives of diverse cultures and perspectives, but we are united in our shared purpose to forge a more just and equitable world.”
The new members will play a crucial role in shaping the council’s decisions on international peace and security. Their two-year term will provide them with an opportunity to contribute to addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.