NASSAU, The Bahamas--The Bahamas is making a bid to get a seat on the United Nations (UN) Security Council, but the vote it’s preparing for won’t be for another 12 years.
The disclosure was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement issued on Tuesday in response to a Letter to the Editor published in a local newspaper last week. It sought to clarify that the Bahamas did not contest the June 7 UN Security Council elections in which a single, non-permanent seat was open to the Latin American and Caribbean Group GRULAC for the biennium 2020-2021. In fact, it said it had joined the Caribbean Community CARICOM in endorsing St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which secured membership in the first round of balloting with a 185-6 victory over fellow candidate El Salvador, to become the smallest nation to sit on the UN body that is charged with ensuring international peace and security
However, the Bahamas has its eyes on a seat for itself in the future, the ministry said.
“The Bahamas has put forward its bid for membership on the Security Council for the biennium 2032-2033, election for which would be in 2031,” it stated.
“A seat on the Security Council is one of the most sought after UN [positions – Ed.] and 2032 is the first available opportunity for the Bahamas to seek the seat for the GRULAC region. The government of the Bahamas will call on the Bahamian public and the international community for support at the appropriate time.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also pointed out that, in recent times, the leadership of the Bahamas in the international arena has been demonstrated in many ways, including through securing seats on important UN organs, such as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), to which the Bahamas has been elected successfully over the last 24 years, the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 2017, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council and the Human Rights Council (HRC) in 2018. ~ Caribbean360 ~
